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shield volcano

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A volcano composed of gently sloping sheets of basaltic lava from successive volcanic eruptions.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun volcanology A large volcano, with shallow-sloping sides and a flattened dome, formed of successive eruptions of free-flowing lava; a lava dome

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  • MaryW commented on the word shield volcano

    There are two main types of volcanoes: stratovolcanoes and shield volcanoes. Shield volcanoes, such as those found in Hawaii, consistently erupt liquid lava and form broad, sloping cones. Stratovolcanoes, like those of the Colombian Andes, are so named because of the way they grow; they are, literally, layered volcanoes. A stratovolcano will experience many types of eruptions during its lifetime. In its youth, lava will pour from the stratovolcano's vent and radiate to form a sturdy base. As the volcano grows into adolescence, its magma becomes thick with mineral silica and has the consistency of fresh epoxy. The lava pours from the crater down the volcano's flanks, building a steep-sided cone. Over thousands of years, the thick, sticky magma solidifies and clogs the volcano's throat, and the young mountain's temperament begins to change.

    Victoria Bruce, No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz (New York: HarperCollins, 2001),  ch. 2

    May 1, 2016