Kinds Of Volcanoes According To Shape
One of the marvels on this planet earth is a volcano, which ruptures the crust of the earth and erupts hot magma or volcanic ash. There are different kinds of volcanoes according to shape that are classified as composite volcanoes, cinder cones, lava domes and shield volcanoes. These volcanoes may be active, dormant or extinct in nature. Active volcanoes can erupt anytime and usually the eruption happens often. Dormant volcanoes haven’t erupted for a long while, however you can’t rule out that it won’t happen anytime and extinct volcanoes have not erupted for a long time and hence there are no chances of it erupting again (there have been exceptions to this rule).
Apart from the status of these volcanoes, let us learn about the different kinds of volcanoes according to shape and understand how they explode.
Shield Volcanoes
These kinds of volcanoes according to shape do not explode as the magma inside it is runny, which descends downward hence letting the gas inside the volcano to pass easily. These volcanoes are shaped like a shield or a bowl that has two gentle slopes on the sides that lets the lava flow. The most famous example of shield volcanoes is the running lava in Hawaii.
Composite Volcanoes
In these types of volcanoes the magma is sticky and dense – the texture of maple syrup. Due to the dense magma, the gas has no path for escaping, ultimately leading to the gas getting built up and exploding due to too much pressure. The explosion erupts huge dark cloud of gas and burning rocks. These kinds of volcanoes according to shape are steep and consist of many layers of volcanic rock. The most famous examples of Composite volcanoes are Mt. Fuji in Japan and Mt. Etna in Italy.
Cinder Cones
As the name suggests these kinds of volcanoes according to r are circular or in an oval shape that is built from lava that erupts and gets broken in to small particles in the air. When these small particles land on the ground cool they form cinder blocks or cinder cones around the opening. Some of the most famous examples of cinder cones are Capulin Volcano in New Mexico.
Lava Domes
These are the most commonly seen volcanoes as depicted in movies and animation. The shape of these domes is formed when the lava that erupts is very thick to flow down and hence makes a steep mound towards the sides as the lava loads up near the mouth of the volcano. Some of the most famous examples of Lava domes are Black Butte in California, Mount Tarumae and Mount Kuro in Japan, Pharaoh Dome in Canada and Mont Gerbier de Jonc, in France
Volcano eruptions can cause a lot of heat in the surrounding areas due to the boiling magma. Ash cloud is a common side effect of most erupted volcanoes and can disrupt air travel that passes through the area of the ash cover completely for a long time. In this way volcanoes can be categorized in accordance with the shape.
