CONTINENTAL VOLCANOES

There are three basic kinds of continental volcanoes: the cinder cone volcano, the shield volcano, and the composite volcano (which is also known as a stratovolcano).

composite volcano/stratovolcano

CINDER CONE VOLCANO

Wizard Island, a cinder cone volcano in the middle of Crater Lake, Oregon. Photo © Maria-Kristina Smith,1993

A cinder cone volcano is a steep cone-shaped hill. It is hardly ever more than 1,640 feet high. A cinder cone volcano is created when explosive eruptions blow ash and various sized rocks out into the air, then these things fall straight back down. This stuff is called pyroclastic material. Because there usually is no lava flow during an eruption from a cinder cone, the pyroclastic material is not cemented together. This means that it can erode quickly. Examples of cinder cone volcanoes are Wizard Island (in the middle of Crater Lake) in Oregon, Parícutin Volcano in Mexico and Sunset Crater in Arizona.

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SHIELD VOLCANO

Mauna Loa Shield Volcano, Hawaii, as seen from Mauna Kea summit.

A shield volcano, unlike the cinder cone, is created from and gets bigger because of lava flows during non-explosive eruptions. When lava flows from a volcano, it runs down the side of a volcano. Because lava is runny, it can spread out over great distances. This gives a shield volcano its shape. From far away, a shield cone looks just like a shield that ancient warriors used to use when fighting. An example of a shield volcano is Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Mauna Loa is the world’s largest active volcano, rising 13,653 feet above sea level.

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COMPOSITE VOLCANO

A composite volcano (also known as a stratovolcano) is the most common type of volcano on Earth. This kind of volcano has both explosive and nonexplosive eruptions, and its shape is created by both lava flows from non-explosive eruptions and pyroclastic material from explosive eruptions. Many times, these kinds of volcanoes look like a combination of a shield volcano and a cinder cone volcano. Lava flows make the base of the volcano spread out, but the pyroclastic material leaves mounds at the top of the volcano. Examples of composite volcanoes are Mt. Fuji in Japan, Mt. St. Helens in the USA, and Mt. Etna in Italy.