Shield volcano

Shield Volcano

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Shield volcano

A shield volcano is a large volcano

Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
with shallow-sloping sides. The name derives from a translation of "Skjaldbreiður

Skjaldbreiður

Skjaldbrei?ur, meaning the broad shield in Icelandic language, is an Icelandic mountain from whose name the term "shield volcano" derives. It was formed in a huge and protracted eruption roughly 9,000 years ago....
", an Iceland

Iceland

Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland , is an island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean between mainland Europe and Greenland....
ic shield volcano whose name means "broad shield", from its resemblance to a warrior's shield. Shield volcanoes are formed by lava

Lava

Lava is molten Rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption. When first expelled from a volcanic vent, it is a liquid at temperatures from 700 ?C to 1,200 ?C ....
flows of low viscosity

Viscosity

Viscosity is a measure of the Drag of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear stress or extensional stress. In everyday terms , viscosity is "thickness"....
— lava that flows easily.

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Encyclopedia

A shield volcano is a large volcano

Volcano

Skjaldbreiður

Iceland

Lava

Lava is molten Rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption. When first expelled from a volcanic vent, it is a liquid at temperatures from 700 ?C to 1,200 ?C ....
flows of low viscosity

Viscosity

Viscosity is a measure of the Drag of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear stress or extensional stress. In everyday terms , viscosity is "thickness"....
— lava that flows easily. Consequently, a volcanic mountain having a broad profile is built up over time by flow after flow of relatively fluid basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually gray to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet....
ic lava issuing from vents or fissures on the surface of the volcano. Many of the largest volcanoes on Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
are shield volcanoes. The largest in terms of area covered is Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on earth and one of five volcanoes that form the Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean....
of Hawai'i; the tallest measured from its base under the ocean, however, is Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is a volcano#volcanic activity in the U.S. state of Hawaii, one of five volcanoes which together form the Hawaii . Mauna kea means "white mountain" in the Hawaiian language, a reference to its summit being regularly covered by snow in winter....
of Hawai'i. All the volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of 19 islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll....
are shield volcanoes.

Geographical extent

Shield volcanoes can be so large that they are sometimes considered to be a mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
, such as the Ilgachuz Range

Ilgachuz Range

The Ilgachuz Range is a name given to an extinct volcano shield volcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single volcano that has been erosion for the past 5 million years....
and the Rainbow Range

Rainbow Range (Coast Mountains)

The Rainbow Range, formerly known as the Rainbow Mountains, is a mountain range in British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Anahim Lake....
, both of which are located in Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. These shield volcanoes formed when the North American Plate

North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
moved over a hotspot

Hotspot (geology)

In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earth's surface that has experienced active volcano for a long period of time. J. Tuzo Wilson came up with the idea in 1963 that volcanic chains like the Hawaiian Islands result from the slow movement of a tectonic plate across a "fixed" hot spot deep beneath the surface of the planet....
similar to the one feeding the Hawai'ian Islands, called the Anahim hotspot

Anahim hotspot

The Anahim hotspot is a volcano hotspot in central British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the Interior Plateau, a large region that lies between the Cariboo Mountains and Monashee Mountains to the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range to the west....
. Shield volcanoes can be found in many places around the world, including Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
, and the Galapagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

Gal?pagos Islands are an archipelago of Island#Volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of continental Ecuador....
. The Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise

Piton de la Fournaise : "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of R?union island in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kilauea in the Hawaiian Islands , Stromboli, Etna and Mount Erebus in Antarctica....
, on Reunion Island

Reunion

Reunion may refer to:...
, is one of the most active shield volcanoes on earth, with one eruption per year on average.

Magma

The viscosity of magma

Magma

Magma is molten Rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles....
as it approaches the surface is dependent on its temperature and composition. Shield volcanoes in the Hawai'ian Islands erupt magma as hot as 1,200 °C (2,200 °F), compared with 850 °C (1,560 °F) for most continental volcanoes, which are usually composed of acidic

Igneous rock

Igneous rock is one of the three main Rock types . Igneous rock is formed by magma being cooled and becoming solid . They may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as Intrusion rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks....
lava. Because of the fluidity of the lava, major explosive eruptions do not occur. The most severe explosions occur if water enters a vent, although expanding gases in the magma can produce spectacular fountaining of the low viscosity lava.

Examples

*Mount Edziza volcanic complex

Mount Edziza volcanic complex

The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a large and potentially active north-south trending complex volcano in Stikine Country, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek, British Columbia....
(British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
)

Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is a volcano#volcanic activity in the U.S. state of Hawaii, one of five volcanoes which together form the Hawaii . Mauna kea means "white mountain" in the Hawaiian language, a reference to its summit being regularly covered by snow in winter....
(Hawai'i, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on earth and one of five volcanoes that form the Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean....
(Hawai'i, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Ilgachuz Range
Ilgachuz Range

The Ilgachuz Range is a name given to an extinct volcano shield volcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single volcano that has been erosion for the past 5 million years....
(British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
)
Rainbow Range
Rainbow Range (Coast Mountains)

The Rainbow Range, formerly known as the Rainbow Mountains, is a mountain range in British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Anahim Lake....
(British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
)
Itcha Range
Itcha Range

The Itcha Range is a mountain range on the Chilcotin Plateau of the British Columbia Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The range is located 25 miles Ordinal direction of Anahim Lake....
(British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
)
Kilauea
Kilauea

Kilauea is an active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five shield volcanoes that together form the Hawaii . In Hawaiian language, the word kilauea means "spewing" or "much spreading", in reference to the mountain's frequent outpouring of lava....
(Hawai'i, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Menengai
Menengai

Menengai is a massive shield volcano located in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. Farmland occupies the flanks of the volcano.Menengai is located north of Nakuru, the fourth largest city in Kenya....
(Menengai
Menengai

Menengai is a massive shield volcano located in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. Farmland occupies the flanks of the volcano.Menengai is located north of Nakuru, the fourth largest city in Kenya....
, Kenya
Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border....
)
Medicine Lake Volcano
Medicine Lake Volcano

Medicine Lake Volcano is a large shield volcano in northeastern California about northeast of Mount Shasta. The volcano is located in a zone of east-west crustal extension east of the main axis of the Cascade Volcanoes and the Cascade Range....
(California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Lunar dome
Lunar dome

A lunar dome is a type of shield volcano that is found on the surface of the Earth's Moon. They are typically formed by highly viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents followed by relatively slow cooling....
(Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
)
Mount Moulton
Mount Moulton

Mount Moulton is a broad, ice-covered shield volcano standing 16 km E of Mount Berlin in the Flood Range, Marie Byrd Land.Discovered on aerial flights by the United States Antarctic Service in 1940, and named for Richard S....
(Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land

Marie Byrd Land is the portion of Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast....
, Antarctica
Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
)
Mount Andrus
Mount Andrus

Mount Andrus is a shield volcano 3.2 km SE of Mount Boennighausen in the SE extremity of Ames Range, in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S....
(Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land

Marie Byrd Land is the portion of Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast....
, Antarctica
Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
)
Mount Okmok
Mount Okmok

Mount Okmok is the highest point on the rim of Okmok Caldera on the northeastern part of Umnak in the eastern Aleutian Islands of Alaska, USA....
(Umnak Island
Umnak

Umnak is one of the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the List of islands of the United States by area....
, Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Indian Heaven
Indian Heaven

Indian Heaven is a Polygenetic volcanic field volcanic field in Washington, United States. It is located midway between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams , and dates from the Pleistocene and Holocene....
(Washington
Washington

Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Mount Warning
Mount Warning

Mount Warning is a mountain close to Murwillumbah, New South Wales, near the border with Queensland on the North Coast of New South Wales, Australia....
(or the Tweed Volcano
Tweed Volcano

Tweed Volcano was an early Miocene shield volcano in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. In the course of about three million years, Tweed Volcano was formed over the East Australia hotspot when this part of the continent passed over it around 23 million years ago....
), (New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
)
Verkhovoy
Verkhovoy

Verkhovoy is a shield volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia....
(Kamchatka, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
)
Olympus Mons
Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons is the tallest known volcano and mountain in the Solar System. It is located on the planet Mars at approximately 18?N 133?W / 18, -133....
(Mars
MARS

In cryptography, MARS is a block cipher that was IBM's submission to the Advanced Encryption Standard process. MARS was selected as an AES finalist in August 1999, after the AES2 conference in March 1999, where it was voted as the fifth and last finalist algorithm....
)
Level Mountain Range
Level Mountain Range

The Level Mountain Range, also known as Level Mountain, is a mountain range in Cassiar Country, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located just northeast of Callison Ranch, southwest of Dease Lake, British Columbia and about north of Mount Edziza....
(British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
)
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean east of the Australian mainland. Along with Ball's Pyramid, it is administered by the Lord Howe Island Board, one of 175 local authorities in the state of New South Wales, and is part of the Mid-North Coast Statistical Division....
(Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
)
Mount Sanford (Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Mount Elgon
Mount Elgon

Mount Elgon is an extinct volcano shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya.The mountain is named after the Elgeyo tribe, who once lived in huge caves on the south side of the mountain....
(Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
/Kenya
Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border....
)
Three Fingered Jack
Three Fingered Jack

Three Fingered Jack, named for its distinctive shape, is a Pleistocene volcano in the Cascade Range of Oregon. It is a deeply glacier shield volcano and consists mainly of basaltic andesite lava....
(Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Kohala
Kohala

Kohala may refer to:United States* Kohala, Hawaii, two districts on the island of Hawaii* Kohala , an extinct volcano in HawaiiPakistan* Kohala, Pakistan, a city...
(Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
)
Mount Berlin
Mount Berlin

Mount Berlin is the sixth highest volcano in Antarctica, located 16 km west of Mount Moulton in Marie Byrd Land near the eastern coast of the Ross Sea....
(Antarctica
Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
)
Queen Mary's Peak
Queen Mary's Peak

Queen Mary's Peak is the highest mountain in the South Atlantic Ocean, situated on the Island of Tristan da Cunha, an British overseas territory of the United Kingdom....
(Atlantic ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
)