GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -They are the world’s largest active volcanoes, rising over 9 km above the sea floor around the island of Hawai’i. Shield volcanoes erupt thin, ‘runny’, lava that forms a gently sloping structure.

Detailed explanation-2: -Shield volcanoes are constructed primarily of thin lava flows that cover large areas. Basaltic shield volcanoes such as Mauna Loa and Kīlauea in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park erupt primarily pāhoehoe and ‘a’ā lavas.

Detailed explanation-3: -A shield volcano takes its name from its shape, which looks like a warrior’s shield seen from the side. It’s much wider than it is high. Shield volcanoes are built up of a great many flows of runny lava, each of which is relatively thin, only a few meters (yards) thick.

Detailed explanation-4: -Shield volcanoes Flow after flow pours out in all directions from a central summit vent, or group of vents, building a broad, gently sloping cone of flat, domical shape, with a profile much like that of a warrior’s shield.

Detailed explanation-5: -The most majestic of the volcanoes are composite volcanoes, also known as strato-volcanoes. Composite volcanoes are tall, symetrically shaped, with steep sides, sometimes rising 10, 000 feet high. They are built of alternating layers of lava flows, volcanic ash, and cinders.