Types of Volcanoes and the Rocks They Form

Volcanoes are areas where rock is built up around an opening in the Earth which connects the land surface to the magma below the ground.  When the pressure deep below the volcano increases, the magma is erupted from the ground.  There are three most common types of volcanoes – Shield Volcanoes, Strato Volcanoes and Cinder Cones.

SHIELD VOLCANOES – Shield volcanoes are very large and relatively flat compared to other types of volcanoes.  The Hawaiian Islands are made up of a line of shield volcanoes.

STRATO VOLCANOES – Strato volcanoes form tall mountains.  Mount St. Helens, located in Washington state, is a strato volcano.

CINDER CONES – Cinder cone is the simplest form of a volcano.  Sunset Crater in Arizona is a well known cinder cone.

Igneous rocks are made from volcanoes and can be either intrusive (formed from magma below ground) or extrusive (formed from lava outside of the volcano).  Learn more about igneous rocks in our My Rockin’ Collection Dexlue Igneous Rocks kit or our Rock Detectives Igneous Investigation kit or our My Rockin’ Collection Junior Igneous Rock kit.

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