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Volcano types and classification
Short answer
Volcanoes are classified by activity into active, dormant, and extinct; and by shape into shield (broad, basaltic), composite (steep, layered), cinder cone, lava dome, caldera, and fissure types.
Describe the types (classification) of volcanoes.
A volcano is an opening in the earth's crust through which molten rock (magma), gases and rock fragments are thrown out to the surface; the cone-shaped hill built around the vent is also called a volcano.
Volcanoes are classified in two ways.
1. According to activity
- Active: erupting now or erupted in recent history, e.g. Mount Etna, Mauna Loa.
- Dormant: quiet for a long time but may erupt again, e.g. Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Extinct: no eruption in historic time and no chance of future eruption, e.g. Mount Kenya.
2. According to form and eruption (shape)
- Shield volcano: broad and gently sloping, built by runny basaltic lava, e.g. Mauna Loa.
- Composite (strato) volcano: steep cone built of alternate layers of lava and ash, with explosive eruptions, e.g. Mt. Fuji, Vesuvius.
- Cinder (scoria) cone: small, steep cone built of loose ash and cinders.
- Lava dome (plug): thick, viscous lava piles up over the vent.
- Caldera: large depression formed by collapse after a big eruption, e.g. Crater Lake.
- Fissure eruption: lava flows from long cracks and builds a lava plateau, e.g. Deccan Traps.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)