GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are shield volcanoes. They are the world’s largest active volcanoes, rising over 9 km above the sea floor around the island of Hawai’i.

Detailed explanation-2: -A shield volcano has a very wide base and is much flatter on the top than a composite volcano. Cinder cones are the smallest and most common type of volcano. They are made of small fragments of rock, called cinders.

Detailed explanation-3: -Shield volcanoes are much wider than they are tall. Mauna Loa’s base on the sea floor is about 100 miles (160 km) wide. Mount Rainier, the tallest composite volcano in the contiguous United States, is about 14, 000 feet (4, 270) tall, but only about 10 mi ( 16 km) wide.

Detailed explanation-4: -It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava erupted from a stratovolcano. Repeated eruptions result in the steady accumulation of broad sheets of lava, building up the shield volcano’s distinctive form.

Detailed explanation-5: -Shield volcanoes are broad volcanoes with sloping sides that are mainly made of basaltic lava. The Mauna Loa on the Island of Hawaii and the Wolf volcano in Galapagos Islands are examples of shield volcanoes.