Definitions
Cinder
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
What are the Different Types of Volcanoes?
A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s surface where molten rock can escape
from underneath. The Earth’s surface is made up of tectonic plates, which are
spreading apart, crunching into each other, or sliding beside one another.
Volcanoes are typically found at the fault lines between these plates. There
can be active volcanos, which are currently, or have recently erupted. There
are also dormant volcanoes, which haven’t erupted recently, and extinct
volcanoes, which will never erupt again.
There are 4 major types of volcanoes:
Cinder Cone Volcanoes:
These are the simplest type of volcano. They occur when particles and blobs
of lava are ejected from a volcanic vent. The lava is blown violently into the
air, and the pieces rain down around the vent. Over time, this builds up a
circular or oval-shaped cone, with a bowl-shaped crater at the top.
cone volcanoes rarely grow larger than about 1,000 feet above their
surroundings.
Composite Volcanoes:
Composite volcanoes, or stratovolcanoes make up some of the world’s most
memorable mountains: Mount Rainier, Mount Fuji, and Mount Cotopaxi, for
example. These volcanoes have a conduit system inside them that channels
magma from deep within the Earth to the surface. They can have clusters of
vents, with lava breaking through walls, or issuing from fissures on the sides
of the mountain. With all this material coming out, they can grow thousands
of meters tall. As we’ve seen with the famous Mount Saint Helens,
composite volcanoes can explode violently.
Shield Volcanoes:
These are large, broad volcanoes that look like shields from above – hence
the name. The lava that pours out of shield volcanoes is thin, so it can travel
for great distances down the shallow slopes of the volcano. These volcanos
build up slowly over time, with hundreds of eruptions, creating many layers.
They’re not likely to explode catastrophically. Perhaps the best known shield
volcanoes are the ones that make up the Hawaiian Islands, especially Mauna
Loa and Mauna Kea.
Lava Domes:
Volcanic or lava domes are created by small masses of lava which are too
viscous (thick) to flow very far. Unlike shield volcanoes, with low-viscosity
lava, the magma from volcanic domes just pile up over and around the vent.
The dome grows by expansion of the lava within, and the mountain forms
from material spilling off the sides of the growing dome. Lava domes can
explode violently, releasing a huge amount of hot rock and ash.
We have written many articles about volcanoes for Universe Today. Here’s
an article about how a volcano sparked lightning storms.
What is the difference between an active, erupting, dormant and extinct
volcano?
An active volcano is a volcano that has had at least one eruption during the
past 10,000 years. An active volcano might be erupting or dormant.

An erupting volcano is an active volcano that is having an eruption...

A dormant volcano is an active volcano that is not erupting, but supposed

to erupt again.

An extinct volcano has not had an eruption for at least 10,000 years and is
not expected to erupt again in a comparable time scale of the future.

Magma- molten rock benesth earth’s surface

Parasitic Cone- small con