What volcanoes cause the most damage?
In 1815, Mount Tambora erupted on Sumbawa, an island of modern-day Indonesia. Historians regard it as the volcano eruption with the deadliest known direct impact: roughly 100,000 people died in the immediate aftermath.
Are stratovolcanoes the most dangerous type of volcano?
Stratovolcanoes, also known as composite cones, are the most picturesque and the most deadly of the volcano types. Their lower slopes are gentle, but they rise steeply near the summit to produce an overall morphology that is concave in an upward direction.
How are stratovolcanoes different from shield volcanoes?
Stratovolcano. Stratovolcanoes have relatively steep sides and are more cone-shaped than shield volcanoes. The lava therefore builds up around the vent forming a volcano with steep sides. Stratovolcanoes are more likely to produce explosive eruptions due to gas building up in the viscous magma.
Which is more dangerous shield or composite volcanoes?
When comparing the two volcano types, shield and composite, it is obvious that although the shield volcanos are more massive (see Figure 9.9), they are far less dangerous to the population than the smaller composite volcanoes.
What are the damages caused by volcanoes?
Volcanoes spew hot, dangerous gases, ash, lava, and rock that are powerfully destructive. People have died from volcanic blasts. Volcanic eruptions can result in additional threats to health, such as floods, mudslides, power outages, drinking water contamination, and wildfires.
Where do most shield volcanoes form?
Shield volcanoes are found worldwide. They can form over hotspots (points where magma from below the surface wells up), such as the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain and the Galápagos Islands, or over more conventional rift zones, such as the Icelandic shields and the shield volcanoes of East Africa.
Why are Stratovolcanoes the most dangerous?
Stratovolcanoes are the most dangerous volcanoes to humans and animals because they are very explosive, producing toxic gas and flying volcanic fragments. Explosive volcanic eruptions, which are common to stratovolcanoes, pose serious threats to aviation travel.
Why are Stratovolcanoes or composite volcanoes so dangerous?
Composite volcanoes are some of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet. The viscous lava cannot travel far down the sides of the volcano before it solidifies, which creates the steep slopes of a composite volcano. Viscosity also causes some eruptions to explode as ash and small rocks.
How do stratovolcanoes and shield volcanoes compare in size?
Size Differences Composite volcanoes, also known as stratovolcanoes, are towering structures, often rising more than 10,000 feet. Shield volcanoes are broad, typically 20 times wider than they are high. These volcanoes can be massive.
What are the differences between shield and composite volcanoes?
Composite volcanoes are tall, steep cones that produce explosive eruptions. Shield volcanoes form very large, gently sloped mounds from effusive eruptions.
Why are stratovolcanoes the most dangerous?
What are the hazards of stratovolcanoes?
Additionally, strato volcanoes are steep piles of ash, lava, and domes that are often rained heavily on, shaken by earthquakes, or oversteepened by intruding blobs of magma (or all of these). This makes the likelihood of landslides, avalanches, and mudflows all very high.