Volcanoes

This is a volcanic "cone". Click on image for full size version (40K GIF) Image from: U.S. Geological Survey

There are several ways in which a volcano can form, just as there are several different kinds of volcanoes. Many of the volcanoes on the Earth's surface are part of the "Pacific Rim of Fire".

During the eruption of a volcano, flowing lava and ash, harden around the opening out of which they came, forming a large cone. This cone is what we know as a volcano.

Among the different kinds of volcanos are:

• shield volcanoes
• cinder cones
• composite volcanoes