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Types of Volcanoes Fact File

Geologists classify volcanoes into three main types: composite volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes, and shield volcanoes. Composite volcanoes are cone-shaped and form tall mountains from slow, sticky lava. Cinder cone volcanoes have explosive eruptions that cause scoria and ash to build up the sides of bowls-shaped craters. Shield volcanoes have runny lava that flows outwards rather than building up, forming broad shields instead of steep slopes.

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Lily Anne Cerillo
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103 views2 pages

Types of Volcanoes Fact File

Geologists classify volcanoes into three main types: composite volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes, and shield volcanoes. Composite volcanoes are cone-shaped and form tall mountains from slow, sticky lava. Cinder cone volcanoes have explosive eruptions that cause scoria and ash to build up the sides of bowls-shaped craters. Shield volcanoes have runny lava that flows outwards rather than building up, forming broad shields instead of steep slopes.

Uploaded by

Lily Anne Cerillo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Volcanoes

Geologists classify volcanoes into three major types: composite


Key Terms
volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes, and shield volcanoes.
• geologist
Composite Volcanoes
• magma
Composite volcanoes are also
known as stratovolcanoes. They • lava
are cone-shaped and often form
• classify
tall mountains. When composite
volcanoes erupt, the lava is slow • explosive
and sticky. This results in it sticking
to the sides of the mountain and
building up over time. As the
Making Connections layers of lava, rock fragments, and
An erupting volcano ash cool and build up around the
can trigger earthquakes, mountain, the volcano slowly grows
tsunamis, mudflows, taller. These volcanoes can reach up
rockfalls, and other to heights of 8,000 feet or more!
natural disasters in the Some of the most famous composite
surrounding area. volcanoes include Mount Hood in
Oregon and Mount Fuji in Japan.

Cinder Cone Volcanoes


Cinder cone volcanoes are also known as scoria volcanoes.
They are made up of cinders called scoria. Cinder cone volcanoes
contain gas bubbles from the magma inside the
volcano expanding. This causes the pressure within
the volcano to build over time until it finally
explodes. As a result, cinder cone volcanoes
have explosive eruptions. Similar to
composite volcanoes, the sides of cinder
cone volcanoes are made up of built-
up lava, rock fragments, and
ash. Cinder cones have a bowl-
shaped hole, or crater, at the
top.

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Volcanoes

Shield Volcanoes
Shield volcanoes have non-explosive eruptions.
Their lava is generally thin and runny. Due
to this, lava doesn’t build up on the sides of
the mountain of the volcano and instead runs
out into the surrounding environment. As lava
cools, it forms the pattern of a shield. These
volcanoes are often found on the Hawaiian
islands.

Interesting Facts Most active volcanoes


in the U.S. can be found
There are more than
in Hawaii, Alaska,
1,500 potentially active
Washington, and
volcanoes around the
Oregon.
world. About 500 of them
have erupted in the past.
More than half of these
volcanoes can be found in
a region surrounding the
Pacific Ocean, termed the
“Ring of Fire.”

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