Shield Volcano

The intense sticky and viscous lava that forms a shield volcano. In comparison to other types of volcanoes, it has shallow inclining sides and is wide. The volcano creates numerous layers of lava on the surface after multiple eruptions until the magma in the earth’s underneath chamber is exhausted. When magma erupts and descends to the ground, it converts into ash, lava, volcanic gases, and other substances. Shield Volcanoes, Cinder Cone Volcanoes, Composite Volcanoes, Stratovolcanoes, and more forms of volcanoes exist.

Shield volcano

Volcanoes are classified into three categories, with the shield volcano covering the biggest area. Shield volcanoes are not as explosive as shield volcanoes, but they have the highest volume, diameter, and may cover an area of 10 to 100 kilometres. In terms of area and circumference, a shield volcano is the biggest, but it is also the flattest of the three types of volcanoes. It appears to be a Warrior’s shield that is laying on the ground. The sides of the shield volcano are steeply inclining. They are generated by magma layers that flow at a low viscosity.

Types of Volcanoes

Volcanoes are categorised into three primary kinds based on their size, form, and region of eruption: shield, cinder cone, and composite.

Volcanic shield

Fluid lava flows make up shield volcanoes fully. A shield-like structure is formed on the surface by continuous flowing lava that produces layer after layer in all directions from a central summit vent.

Volcano of the Cinder Cone

The simplest form of volcano is the cinder cone. Pyroclastic cones are another name for them. Cinder cones are formed up of “cinders,” which are ejected igneous rocks. In this location, cinder cone volcanoes are modest and have a circular footprint.

Volcano composite

Stratovolcano is another name for a composite volcano. It is made up of many layers of solidified lava. In nature, composite volcanoes are ferocious. They can explode with such force that they collapse in on themselves. Some of the layers of the composite volcano might be lava, while others could be ash, rock, or pyroclastic flows.

Shield Volcano’s Characteristics

Shield volcano has a variety of unique characteristics. The following are a few of them: –

Basaltic lava is the type of lava that has erupted from the shield volcanoes. The temperature of basaltic lava is high, yet it has a low silica and gas concentration.

Because of the lava’s liquid nature, it flows across extended distances before it solidifies. The shield volcanoes’ soft slopes result as a result of this.

The lava that spews forth from shield volcanoes is fluid and non-acidic.

In comparison to the other volcanoes, the time between eruptions is shorter.

The shield volcanoes have less powerful eruptions. They are both silent and massive.

Shield Volcano Components

 are also some of the shield volcano’s most critical parts. The caldera is the volcano’s highest point. The caldera is where lava erupts, however it isn’t the only area where lava erupts. On the sides of the shields, there are vents. They’re the cracks in the ground where lava can erupt.

A magma chamber exists beneath the crust, beneath the caldera. While the eruption is taking place, magma erupts from the crust. The term magma is replaced with lava.

What causes shield volcanoes to form?

The lava is what distinguishes the shield volcano from the other three types of volcanoes and gives it a unique form. Volcanoes are various regions on the ground that spew lava from the earth’s chambers underneath them. The shield volcano’s lava is basaltic lava, which has a low viscosity.

Basaltic lava has a low viscosity as compared to the lava, ash, and rock that often erupt from other types of volcanoes. It can flow swiftly and far due to its low viscosity. While flowing, it also covers a huge area. When lava erupts from a volcano, it hardens over time, and when the next eruption occurs, the preceding layer solidifies, allowing more lava to tumble to the surface. This cycle continues for years, finally forming a shield on the volcano’s surface. Shield volcanoes erupt on a regular basis and for lengthy periods of time. As a result, they expand in size. Shield volcanoes have allowed lava to flow continuously and gently for hundreds of millions of years.

Another mechanism that permits shield volcanoes to become enormous is the lava tube. Lava that flows away from the eruption site cools down over time. When it is exposed to the air, it hardens faster than the lava beneath it. Under some situations, the surface lava forms a shell that protects the lava beneath it. The lava is able to move from the original eruption location because of the insulation.

Conclusion

A shield volcano has a large crater with steeply sloping edges. Many low viscosity magma flows combine to generate shield volcanoes. The lava oozes out of the vent and slides down the volcano’s slopes, increasing the volcano’s size. Shield volcanoes get their name from their resemblance like a warrior’s shield on the ground. Mauna Loa is the biggest shield volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. Wolf volcano in the Galapagos Islands and Nyamuragira in the Democratic Republic of Congo are two more well-known shield volcanoes.