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Cinder Cones
With only a single, central vent from which to eject lava, cinder cones are the most basic type of volcano. When the lava is thrown from the volcano, it solidifies into small particles -- called cinders -- that create a cone around the vent. Most cinder cone volcanoes are less than 1,000 feet tall and have a crater at the top. Cinder cones generally erupt, form a cone then ooze lava. The Paricutin volcano in Mexico is an example of a cinder cone volcano.
Composite Volcanoes
Composite volcanoes -- also known as stratovolcanoes -- form steep cones from alternating layers of lava, ash, cinder and other volcanic ejections. Magma flows into a composite volcano through a series of conduits; it leaves as lava through a central vent or a group of clustered vents. These volcanoes can be as high as 8,000 feet. Some of the world's most familiar volcanoes -- Mount Fuji, Mount Cotopaxi and Mount St. Helens -- are composite volcanoes.
Shield Volcanoes
Shield volcanoes are formed as hot lava flows out of the vents and hardens as it cools. The resulting formation is a broad, sloping volcanic cone. Sometimes lava flows through fissures at the base of these volcanoes and floods into nearby areas, forming lava plateaus that can be more than a mile wide. The Hawaiian Islands are home to several shield volcanoes. At 13,677 feet above sea level and 28,000 feet above the floor of the ocean, Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano in the world.
Lava Domes
Lava domes -- also called volcanic domes -- form when thick lava flows out of the volcanic vent, piling up around it; the domes expand from within as hot magma pushes against the insides of the dome. Lava domes often form in the craters or along the edges of larger composite volcanoes. The Novarupta Dome formed from an eruption of Alaska's Katmai Volcano; this dome is 200 feet high and 800 feet wide.