Explanation:
There are three types of volcanoes: cinder cones (also called spatter cones), composite volcanoes (also called stratovolcanoes), and shield volcanoes. Figure 11.22 illustrates the size and shape differences amongst these volcanoes.
Shield volcanoes, which get their name from their broad rounded shape, are the largest. Figure 11.22 shows the largest of all shield volcanoes- in fact, the largest of all volcanoes on Earth- Mauna Loa, which makes up a substantial part of the Island of Hawai‘i and has a diameter of nearly 200 km. The summit of Mauna Loa is presently 4,169 m above sea level, but this represents only a small part of the volcano. It rises up from the ocean floor at a depth of approximately 5,000 m. Furthermore, the great mass of the volcano has caused it to sag downward into the mantle by an additional 8,000 m. In total, Mauna Loa is a 17,170 m thick accumulation of rock.
Kīlauea Volcano is also a shield volcano, albeit a much flatter one. Kīlauea Volcano rises only 18 m about the surrounding terrain, and is almost not visible in the scale of the diagram, however it still stretches over a distance of 125 km along the eastern side of the Island of Hawai‘i.
Composite volcanoes are the next largest. Mt. St. Helens is shown on the left of Figure 11.22. It rises 1,356 m above the surrounding terrain in the Cascade Range of the western United States, and has a diameter of approximately 6 km. Composite volcanoes tend to be no more than 10 km in diameter. Unlike shield volcanoes, composite volcanoes have a distinctly conical shape, with sides that steepen toward the summit.
