Volcanoes are part of the geomorphology of the Earth. Geomorphology is a branch of geography and geology that studies the shapes of the earth's surface, which is responsible for describing them, understanding their origins and their current behavior. Within geomorphology we specifically find the volcanology, which is science, which specifically deals with the study of everything related to volcanoes.
All volcano types are divided into three main categories according to its geomorphology, its volcanic activity and its eruption. If you want to know more about them with some examples, in this post we will talk about them.
Volcanoes, as we have said at the beginning of this post, are classified according to their morphology, the volcanic activity they have and the type of volcanic eruption. Let's make a brief introduction to this classification:
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Types of volcanoes according to their activity: active, inactive and extinct volcanoes
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Types of volcanoes according to their geomorphology: shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes, calderas, cinder (or scoria) cones, and lava domes.
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Types of volcanoes according to their eruption: Hawaiian volcanoes, Strombolian volcanoes, Vulcan volcanoes, Pelean volcanoes, hydromagmatic volcanoes, Icelandic volcanoes, and submarine volcanoes.
Types of volcanoes according to their activity
As we have mentioned before, The types of volcanoes according to their activity are active, inactive and extinct.. Below we will talk about each of them.
Active volcanos
They are those volcanoes that could erupt at any moment. This happens to most volcanoes, some examples of these are Old Summit on the Spanish island of La Palma (currently erupting), Sicilia, mount etna from Italy (currently erupting), Guatemalan Fire (currently also in eruption) and the Volcan Irazu in Costa Rica.
Dormant volcanoes
They are volcanoes that keep their activity to a minimum, are also known as dormant volcanoes. Although its activity is low, it sometimes erupts. A volcano is considered dormant if it has not erupted for centuries. The volcano Teide in the Canary Islands of Spain and the supervolcano Yellowstone in the United States are examples of dormant volcanoes. However, these two recent examples show movement, with minor earthquakes in their area, suggesting that they are still "alive" and may be activated at some point, they are not extinct or displaced.
extinct volcanoes
They are volcanoes whose last eruption dates back more than 25.000 years.. In any case, the researchers do not rule out that at some point they will explode again. Those volcanoes that have been displaced by tectonic movements with respect to their magma source also take this name. The volcano Diamond head in Hawaii it is an example of an extinct volcano.
Types of volcanoes according to their geomorphology
shield volcanoes
These are great volcanoes. They are characterized by having a diameter much greater than their height.. The shape of this volcano is determined by the continuous accumulation of volcanic eruptions. For example, most of the volcanoes in the Galapagos Islands have this shape, such as the Wolf Volcano.
stratovolcanoes
As its name suggests, this type of volcano It is made up of layers of basaltic lava and rock.. They are conical in shape and originate from explosive eruptions that alternate with other calm ones. As an example of a stratovolcano, we can mention the Colima volcano in Mexico.
volcanic calderas
They originate from a large explosion or collapse of a magma chamber. As a main feature, we can talk about its shape, which looks like a big crater. He bandama crater in Gran Canaria is an example of such a volcano.
Cinder (or slag) cones
These are the most abundant volcanoes from the earth. SThey are characterized by their small size. and rarely exceed 300 meters in height. As its name indicates, they are built from ashes and/or slag. In Peru, more than 45 scoria cones are found exclusively in the Arequipa and Cusco regions.
lava dome
This type of volcano originates when the lava is not very fluid, then accumulates and squeezes the crater. As the lava accumulated, a kind of dome formed on the top of the volcano. An example is the lava dome of the volcano Chaiten in Chile.
Types of volcanoes according to their eruption
Hawaiian volcanoes
The lava of these volcanoes is fluid and does not release gases or produce explosions during the eruption.. Therefore, the burst is silent. Most of the volcanoes in Hawaii have this type of eruption, hence the name. Specifically, we can mention the Hawaiian volcano called Mauna loa.
Strombolian volcanoes
Unlike the volcano just described, the Strombolian volcano presents a not very fluid viscous lava, and the eruption consists of successive explosions. In fact, the lava crystallized as it went up the pipes, and then the volcanic activity was reduced to projecting semi-consolidated balls of lava, called volcanic ejecta. The name of this type of volcano refers to the Stromboli volcano in Italy, which erupts rhythmically every 10 minutes.
vulcanian volcanoes
In this case, they are very violent eruptions that can destroy the volcanoes they are on. The washed is characterized by being very viscous and with high gaseous content. As an example, we can mention the volcano Volcano in Italy, whose volcanic activity gave rise to this type of volcano.
fighting volcanoes
These volcanoes have very viscous lava that solidifies quickly to form a plug in the crater. The enormous pressure created by the gas inside causes the lateral cracks to open and, sometimes, the plug to be violently expelled. As an example we can mention the volcano Perret on the island of Martinique, from which the name of this volcano is derived.
hydromagmatic volcanoes
Eruptions result from the interaction of magma masses in contact with groundwater or surface water.. Depending on the magma/water ratio, a large amount of steam can be released. This type of volcanic activity is common among the volcanoes in the Spanish region of Campo de Calatrava.
Icelandic volcanoes
In these types of volcanoes, the lava flows and the eruption is expelled through cracks in the ground, not from the crater. Thus was formed the Great Lava Plateau. THEMost of these volcanoes are in Iceland., hence its name. A specific example is the volcano krafla in Iceland.
underwater volcanoes
Although surprising, there are also active volcanoes under the sea. Of course, oceanic eruptions are usually short-lived. In some cases, the ejected lava can reach the surface and form volcanic islands as it cools. An example of an underwater volcano is the volcano kavachi near the Solomon Islands.
I hope this article has helped you learn more about the types of volcanoes and their characteristics. If you want to know more about volcanoes you can visit this link.