Hazards and Processes
Research and Impacts
Volcano Types and Features

There are 5,971 volcano images available on the GVP website, including 4,243 in these new galleries with updated captions and keywords, and at a larger size.

Shield volcanoes are low-angled, broad volcanoes that may be part of volcanic fields or chains. These large volcanoes are mostly created through effusive eruptions producing low-viscosity, low-silica lava flows, but explosive eruptions may still occur. They can contain multiple vents, lava lakes, summit calderas, fissures, spatter ramparts, fracture networks, lava tubes, and slumping features. Hazards include lava flows, ballistic ejecta, volcanic ash, volcanic gas, structural failure (small landslides and large flank collapse), pyroclastic flows (also called pyroclastic density currents), volcanic lightning, and explosions when lava interacts with water.

Image Gallery for Shield Volcanoes