Lesson 11.

MORPHOLOGY OF
VOLCANOES
 IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING
VOLCANIC MORPHOLOGY
 Eruption Predictions
 Risk Assessment and Mitigation
 Volcanic Hazard Mapping
 Environmental Hazard Mapping
Geothermal Energy Exploration
 Formation of Natural Resources
Tourism and Education
Climate Impact
Monitoring and Early Warning Systems
 OBJECTIVES
• Describe the different types of volcanoes.
• Explain how volcanoes provide information about
the interior of the Earth.
• Differentiate between active and inactive
volcanoes.
• Beneath the crust of Earth is a region called the mantle, which is about 2890
km thick.
• It composed of dense but malleable rocks in the upper layer, and denser
but solid rocks in the lower layer.
• Subduction occurs when one
tectonic plate is forced beneath
another as they converge.
Typically, subduction zones are
associated with deep ocean
trenches where oceanic plates
are subducted beneath
continental plates or other
oceanic plates.
• Lateral sliding also known as
transform boundaries, occurs
where two tectonic plates slide
past each other horizontally. The
movement is typically horizontal,
and the boundaries are
characterized by strike-slip faults.
• Spreading occurs at divergent
boundaries where tectonic
plates move away from each
other. This process often takes
place along mid-ocean ridges,
where new oceanic crust is
formed as magma rises from the
mantle and solidifies at the
ocean floor.
• The semi molten rock (not totally liquid)
rock is called magma, which tries to
escape upward through spaces
between plates toward cooler areas on
the crust.
• Lava that flows over the surface, building
layer until a volcano is formed.
• A volcano is an elevated landform with
an opening top called its crater, from
where lava and other rock fragments,
steam, gases, ash, heat, and other
volcanic materials are ejected.
 THE BASIC PARTS OF A VOLCANO ARE THE
FOLLOWING:
• Fissure – elongated fracture or crack
on Earth’s crust from which lava erupts
• Conduit – passageway through which
magma travels to reach Earth’s
surface
• Vent – opening where volcanic
materials are released.
• Crater – bowl-shaped depression at
the top of the volcano where the vent
is located
• Flank – side of a volcano
• Magma chamber or reservoir –
underground compartment where the
magma is stored
 THREE MAJOR TYPES OF VOLCANO
• Stratovolcano – is formed by highly
viscous or thick, slow-moving lava.
Also termed as composite cone
volcano, it has a steep upper
slopes and relaxed lower slopes,
has a small crater t its summit, and
is packed with a large reservoir of
magma caused by the heat and
pressure from tectonic plate
movement.
 PARTS OF A
STRATOVOLCANO
• Shield volcano – is formed by
loose and fluid lava that flows
over each other. Shield volcano is
usually low and broad,
resembling a warrior’s armored
shield or a gigantic blob.
• The lava does not shoot up high
in the air in a violent explosion.
Instead, lava just flows and runs
down the side of its crater,
increasing the size of the volcano.
PARTS OF A SHIELD
VOLCANO
• Cinder cone also known as scoria
cone, is formed by fluid lava that
is ejected because of high
pressure that builds up in the
magma chamber.
• As the lava cools on its descent,
the rocks break down and form
the steep conical landscape of
the cinder volcano.
PARTS OF A CINDER
CONE VOLCANO