Volcanoes Around The World

• Stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes)
Stratovolcanoes or composite volcanoes are tall conical mountains composed of lava flows and other ejecta in alternate layers, the strata that give rise to the name. Stratovolcanoes are also known as composite volcanoes, created from several structures during different kinds of eruptions. Strato/composite volcanoes are made of cinders, ash and lava. Cinders and ash pile on top of each other, lava flows on top of the ash, where it cools and hardens, and then the process begins again. Classic examples include Mt. Fuji in Japan, Mayon Volcano in the Philippines, and Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli in Italy.
In recorded history, explosive eruptions by stratovolcanoes have posed the greatest hazard to civilizations, as ash is produced by an explosive eruption. No supervolcano erupted in recorded history. Shield volcanoes have not an enormous pressure build up from the lava flow. Fissure vents and monogenetic volcanic fields (volcanic cones) have not powerful explosive eruptions, as they are many times under extension. Stratovolcanoes (30–35°) are steeper than shield volcanoes (generally 5–10°), their loose tephra are material for dangerous lahars.