TYPES OF VOLCANOES
Volcanoes are scattered all around planet earth. Not all of these volcanoes are the same kind. Some volcanoes are high in the sky and some volcanoes are as flat as a pancake. All together there are three types of volcanoes.
The first type of volcano we will look at is called a composite volcano. This kind of volcano is what most people think of when they think of a volcano. A composite volcano gets its name because the volcano is made up of many layers of lava mixed in with sand or gravel-like volcanic rock and ash.
Composite volcanoes are very explosive when they erupt. Because these volcanoes can be about 10 miles wide and thousands of feet high, the ash they spray out can cover huge areas of air and land.
Another type of volcano that scatters the planet is called a cinder cone volcano. These volcanoes are usually very steep on the sides and have a small crater on the top.
Cinder cone volcanoes are smaller in size at about a mile wide and usually have little to no lava eject, when they erupt.
The third type of volcano that is present on Earth is called a shield volcano. Shield volcanoes are very very large. Their base can be hundreds of miles across. Shield volcanoes also have low slopes that are made of frozen lavas. The Hawaiian islands are all a series of shield volcanoes.
When shield volcanoes erupt lava is ejected and then flows down the slopes of the volcano slowly. Shield volcanoes can be observed from a short distance if the proper safety measures are taken.
Volcanoes are one of natures most powerful yet most beautiful forces!