Mount Melbourne is part of the McMurdo Volcanic Group and together with Mount Erebus one of its active volcanoes. This volcanic group is one of the largest alkaline volcanic provinces in the world, comparable with that of the East African Rift, and is subdivided into the Melbourne, the Hallett and the Erebus volcanic provinces. The volcanic group consists of large shield volcanoes mainly near the coasts, stratovolcanoes and monogenetic volcanoes.