Can someone describe the formation of different types of volcanoes?
A volcano is simply a place where molten rock from inside the Earth touches the surface. Different types of volcanoes will form depending on the properties of the molten rock – how fluid it is, how much gas there is in it; how long the lava comes out of the hole; how many times the lava comes out and the shape of the hole. If you have a short lived hole spewing out lava with a lot of gas in it you get a cinder cone. If the lava is too thick to flow properly it could be an explosive eruption. If the lava is really fluid and flows easily – and it keeps flowing repeatedly from the same site over an extended period of time (like Mauna Loa in Hawaii) you get a shield volcano. If the lava doesn’t flow easily it tends to pile up and over centuries you get a stratovolcano. This would be like Mt. Vesuvius or Mt. St. Helens.
