The two types of volcano form in different places and have very different characteristics. These volcanoes usually form in subduction zones. Taller than shield and cinder cone. Most of the remaining 40 percent occurs under the oceans.

A volcano is a mound, hill or mountain constructed by solid fragments, lava flows, and or dome-like extrusions deposited around a vent from which the material is extruded.

Tall conical shaped mountains These volcanoes form tall, conical shaped mountains.

Geologists generally group volcanoes into four main kinds--cinder cones, composite volcanoes, shield volcanoes, and lava domes. Composite Volcano - tall and thin If the magma is thick and sticky (like honey), the gas cannot escape, so it builds up and up until it explodes sending out huge clouds of burning rock and gas.

In order to understand the true nature of a volcano, it is important to know what kind it is.
The two types of volcano form in different places and have very different characteristics. The different shapes of volcanoes include composite volcanoes or stratovolcanoes with steep sides and symmetrical cones.

Famous examples of composite volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens in Washington State, and Mayon Volcano in the Philippines. Cinder cones are the simplest type of volcano. Geologists and professional volcanologists usually classify volcanoes into four different types, based on their shape, magnitude, structure, material, and type of eruption. Composite volcanoes are steep sided volcanoes that reach great heights on the continents. There are two main types of volcano - composite and shield. A composite volcano IS a type of volcano, so any composite volcano falls under the category of 'composite volcanoes'.
They are built from particles and blobs of congealed lava ejected from a single vent. Cinder cone volcanoes have a summit with a bowl shape crater. The volcanoes expel a variety of stiff pasty lavas that form thick lava flows.

Professor, M. Moody

Cinder cones. There are two main types of volcano - composite and shield.

Types of volcano - composite and shield.

They account for 60 percent of the Earth's volcanism. A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, pumice and ash. Composite volcanoes are steep-sided volcanoes composed of many layers of volcanic rocks, usually made from thick sticky lava, ash and rock debris (broken pieces).

What is a Composite Volcano?

Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and periodic intervals of explosive eruptions and effusive eruptions, although some have collapsed summit craters called calderas. Actually, there are different types of volcanoes—some are very dangerous, while others are not.