Download Volcanic Landforms

Volcanic Landforms
Landforms From Lava and
Ash
 Rock and other materials formed from
lava create a variety of landforms
including shield volcanoes, composite
volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes, and
lava plateaus.
Shield Volcanoes
 A wide gently sloping mountain made of
layers of lava and formed by quiet
eruptions.
 Shield volcanoes rising from a hot spot
on the ocean floor created the Hawaiian
Islands.
Cinder Cone Volcanoes
 A steep cone shaped hill or mountain.
 Cinder cone volcanoes occur from pile up
of cinders, bombs, and ash from an
explosive volcano.
Composite Volcano
 Tall, cone shaped mountains in which
layers of lava alternate with layers of ash.
 Examples: Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Fuji
Lava Plateau
 High level areas formed from lava
 Example: Columbia Plateau
Caldera:
 A huge hole left by the collapse of a
volcanic mountain.
 The hole is filled with the pieces of the
volcano that have fallen inward as well
as some lava and ash.
Soils from lava and ash
 Soils made from volcanic ash is some of
the richest soil in the world.
 Volcanic ash breaks down and releases
potassium, phosphorus, and other
materials that plants need.
 People settle near volcanoes to take
advantage of the fertile soil.
Landforms from Magma
 Features formed from magma include:
volcanic necks, dikes, and sills, as well
as batholiths and dome mountains.
Volcanic necks, dikes, and sills:
 A neck forms when magma hardens in a
volcanoes pipe.
 Magma that forces itself across rock
layers hardens into a dike.
 When magma squeezes between layers
of rock it is called a sill.
Batholiths:
 A mass of rock formed when a large body
of magma cools inside the crust.
Dome Mountains:
 Forms when rising magma is blocked by
horizontal layers of rock. The magma
forces the layers of rock to bend upward
into a dome shape