A large crater formed when a volcano collapses

Where do most volcanic eruptions on Earth happen?

Underwater along mid-ocean ridges

Volcano Types Quiz: Can You Get 8 Out of 10?

This volcano types quiz covers shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes, cinder cones, lava domes, calderas and supervolcanoes, plus lava types and the Volcanic Explosivity Index. Can you get 8 out of 10 on the different forms volcanoes take?

Start Volcano Types Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Shield
Which type of volcano has gentle slopes from runny lava?
Strato
Which type is steep and built from layers of lava and ash?
Cinder
Which small, steep volcano is made of loose volcanic fragments?
Caldera
What is a caldera?
Super
Which US national park sits on a supervolcano?
Dome
What forms when thick lava piles up near a vent?
Lava
Which lava type is runny and makes smooth, ropy surfaces?
Iceland
What is a fissure eruption?
VEI
What does the Volcanic Explosivity Index measure?
Underwater
Where do most volcanic eruptions on Earth happen?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which type of volcano has gentle slopes from runny lava?
Answer: Shield volcano
Mauna Loa is a classic example.
Q2: Which type is steep and built from layers of lava and ash?
Answer: Stratovolcano
Mount Fuji and Mount St. Helens are examples.
Q3: Which small, steep volcano is made of loose volcanic fragments?
Answer: Cinder cone
Parícutin in Mexico grew from a cornfield in 1943.
Q4: What is a caldera?
Answer: A large crater formed when a volcano collapses
Crater Lake fills one in Oregon.
Q5: Which US national park sits on a supervolcano?
Answer: Yellowstone
Its last huge eruption was about 640,000 years ago.
Q6: What forms when thick lava piles up near a vent?
Answer: Lava dome
Domes can collapse dangerously.
Q7: Which lava type is runny and makes smooth, ropy surfaces?
Answer: Pāhoehoe
ʻAʻā is rough and jagged.
Q8: What is a fissure eruption?
Answer: Lava pouring from a long crack
Iceland often has them.
Q9: What does the Volcanic Explosivity Index measure?
Answer: How explosive an eruption is
It runs from 0 to 8.
Q10: Where do most volcanic eruptions on Earth happen?
Answer: Underwater along mid-ocean ridges
Most go unseen.

Volcano Types Quiz – Shapes of Fire

Volcanoes take different shapes depending on their lava and eruption style. Runny basalt lava builds broad shield volcanoes, while thick, gas-rich magma creates steep stratovolcanoes that can erupt explosively.

Cinder cones are small steep hills of volcanic fragments, lava domes form from sticky lava piling up, and calderas are giant craters left when volcanoes collapse after massive eruptions. Supervolcanoes like Yellowstone can produce eruptions thousands of times larger than typical ones.

Most eruptions happen unseen along mid-ocean ridges. Scientists classify eruptions with the Volcanic Explosivity Index and monitor active volcanoes to warn nearby communities.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for students learning volcano types.

What shield volcanoes are
What stratovolcanoes are
What calderas are
What supervolcanoes are
How lava types differ

Did You Know?

Mount Fuji last erupted in 1707.
Kīlauea is a shield volcano.
Lake Toba fills a supervolcano caldera.
Mount Pinatubo cooled global climate in 1991.
Some volcanoes erupt under glaciers.