Types of Volcanoes and the Shapes of Volcanoes

Types of Volcanoes

There are 3 different types of volcanoes:

1. Active - eruptions can be anytime and often.
2. Dormant - has been a while since it has erupted, but could at anytime.
3. Extinct, meaning it hasn't erupted in a very long, long time so it probably won't ever again.
   

Shapes of Volcanoes

How many different shapes of volcano are there?

The type of magma in the earth creates four different types volcanoes:

• shield volcanoes
• composite volcanoes
• cinder cones
• lava domes

Shield Volcano - flat

If the magma is runny, the gas can escape easily and there will not be an explosion. The magma just comes out of the mountain and flows down the sides.
Shield volcanoes are shaped like a bowl or shield in the middle with long gentle slopes made by the lava flows.
Examples include the volcanoes in Hawaii and Mount Etna.

Composite Volcano - tall and thin

If the magma is thick and sticky (like honey), the gas cannot escape, so it builds up and up until it explodes sending out huge clouds of burning rock and gas.
Composite volcanoes are steep-sided volcanoes composed of many layers of volcanic rocks, usually made from thick sticky lava, ash and rock debris (broken pieces).
Composite volcanoes are also known as strato-volcanoes.
Examples include Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, Mount Shasta and Lassen in California, Mount Hood in Oregon, Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier in Washington and Mt. Etna in Italy

Cinder cones

Cinder cones are circular or oval cones built from erupting lava that breaks into small pieces as it shoots into the air. As small pieces fall back to the ground, they cool and form cinders around the vent.

Lava domes

Lava domes are formed when erupting lava is too thick to flow and makes a steep-sided mound as the lava piles up near the volcanic vent.

What is the largest Active Volcano?

Where is the Mauna Loa?

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

How tall is Mauna Loa?

Mauna Loa is 4,170 m (13,680 ft. - approx 6 miles) above sea level. From its base below sea level to its summit, Mauna Loa is taller than Mount Everest.
Mauna Loa also has the greatest volume of any volcano, estimated to be 10,200 cubic miles (42,500 cubic kilometers).
At 60 miles long and 30 miles wide, it makes up half of the entire island.
Note
Mauna Loa is about 36 m (120 ft) lower than its neighbour, Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea's summit rises to an elevation of 4205m above sea level. Ma

What type of volcano is Mauna Loa?

Mauna Loa is the world's largest shield volcano, a gently sloping mountain produced from a large number of generally very fluid lava flows.

Is Mauna Loa an active volcano?

Yes, Mauna Loa is among Earth's most active volcanoes. It has erupted 33 times since 1843. Its most recent eruption occurred from March 24, 1984, to April 15, 1984.
Mauna Loa has probably been erupting for at least 100,000 years.

What does Mauna Loa mean?

The Hawaiian name "Mauna Loa" means "Long Mountain." This name is apt, for the subaerial part of Mauna Loa extends for about 120 km from the southern tip of the island to the summit caldera and then east-northeast to the coastline near Hilo.
Did you know?
Hawaii was formed by 5 volcanoes. Mauna Loa, and Kilauea are the only active volcanoes.

The different parts of a Volcano

he image below shows the different parts of a volcano.

Definitions

Magma - Molten rock beneath Earth's surface.

Parasitic Cone - A small cone-shaped volcano formed by an accumulation of volcanic debris.

Sill - A flat piece of rock formed when magma hardens in a crack in a volcano.

Vent - An opening in Earth's surface through which volcanic materials escape.

Flank - The side of a volcano.

Lava - Molten rock that erupts from a volcano that solidifies as it cools.

Crater - Mouth of a volcano - surrounds a volcanic vent.

Conduit - An underground passage magma travels through.

Summit - Highest point; apex

Throat - Entrance of a volcano. The part of the conduit that ejects lava and volcanic ash.

Ash - Fragments of lava or rock smaller than 2 mm in size that are blasted into the air by volcanic explosions.

Ash Cloud - A cloud of ash formed by volcanic explosions.

Volcanic Eruptions

Effect of Volcanoes on people and the environment
Volcanoes can have a very serious effect on the lands and people around them when they erupt.

• Buildings are destroyed and people are made homeless.
  
• People are killed.
  
• Clouds of ash cover plants making them inedible.
  
• Poisonous gases kill people and animals.
  
• Dust causes pneumonia and illnesses to the survivors.
  
• Dark skies, severe winds and heavy rains may follow an eruption for months afterwards.
  

Current Volcanic Activity

People and Volcanoes

One in 10 people in the world live within 'danger range' of an active volcano.
People can get used to living near a volcano, but it is always a little dangerous. Scientists have estimated that at least 200,000 persons have lost their lives as a result of volcanic eruptions during the last 500 years.
People set up homes on the slopes of volcanoes because of the rich, fertile soil produced.

Facts about Volcanoes for Kids

What is a Volcano?

A volcano is a landform (usually a mountain) where molten rock erupts through the surface of the planet.

In simple terms a volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock (magma) below the surface of the earth. It is a hole in the Earth from which molten rock and gas erupt.

Did you know? The name "volcano" has its origin from the name of Vulcan, a god of fire in Roman mythology. As pressure in the molten rock builds up it needs to escape somewhere. So it forces its way up “fissures” which are narrow cracks in the earths crust. Once the magma erupts through the earth’s surface it’s called lava.

What is the difference between lava and Magma?
Magma is liquid rock inside a volcano.
Lava is liquid rock (magma) that flows out of a volcano. Fresh lava ranges from 1,300° to 2,200° F (700° to 1,200° C) in temperature and glows red hot to white hot as it flows.

How many volcanoes are there
in the world?

There are around 1510 'active' volcanoes in the world. We currently know of 80 or more which are under the oceans.
What are the three layers the Earth is made of?

1. Crust
   The crust is the outer layer of Earth. It is about 18 miles thick. It is the part we live on.
2. Mantle
   The second layer is called the mantle. It is about 1,800 miles thick.
3. Core
   The inner layer is called the core.
   

What causes volcanoes to erupt?

The Earth's crust is made up of huge slabs called plates, which fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. These plates sometimes move.
Between the Earth's crust and the mantle is a substance called magma which is made of rock and gases.
When two plates collide, one section slides on top of the other, the one beneath is pushed down.  Magma is squeezed up between two plates.

Did you know? Volcanoes are like giant safety valves that release the pressure that builds up inside the Earth.

When magma erupts, what is it called?
When magma erupts through the earth's surface it is called lava

What is the Ring of Fire?

Over half of the world’s volcanoes arise in a belt around the Pacific Ocean called the Ring of Fire.

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Working on Volcanoes

  

The following section is meant to give you a flavor of what it is like to work on a volcano. It illustrates some of the techniques that are used to study active Hawaiian volcanoes, most of which are also used to study the rest of the world's volcanoes.   Keep in mind also, that there are lots of indoor techniques that are equally important for understanding what a volcano is doing. Important examples of these are the analysis of seismic signals and geochemical studies of erupted lavas and gases.