There are three types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, cinder cones and composite volcanoes. They get their name by the way they are shaped and what they are made of.
Shield volcanoes look like dome-shaped mountain. The mountain is formed when the lava spills out and gradually creates a dome-shaped mountain. Shield volcanoes are 9000 meters tall. Example Hawaii Island.
Cinder Cones look like a cone-shaped mountain. A material called tephra (cinder) erupts and forms a cone-shaped mountain. Cinder cones are 100 to 400 meters tall. Example Krakatoa Island
Composite or strato volcanoes have both tephra and lava material erupt from it. The materials layer themselves and form a huge cone-shaped mountain. Composite volcanoes are 100 to 3500 meters tall.Mount St. Helens is an example of a composite volcano.
Eruption Classification
Hawaiian - least violent
Strombolian - erupts tephra
Vulcanian - erupts sticky magma
Peleean - most violent
Caldera - a volcano that forms near or under
the water.
Eruptions can cause flashfloods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls.
Volcanic ash can be acidic and smelly.
