Shield volcano facts for kids
A shield volcano is a huge volcano with gently sloping sides. Imagine a warrior's shield lying on the ground – that's where these volcanoes get their name! The word comes from "Skjaldbreiður", an Icelandic shield volcano whose name means "broad shield."
Shield volcanoes are built by lava that flows very easily. This lava is usually slow-moving and thick. Over time, many layers of this fluid lava pour out from cracks or openings on the volcano's surface. Each new layer adds to the volcano, slowly building up its wide, gentle shape. Many of the biggest volcanoes on Earth are shield volcanoes.
The largest shield volcano on Earth is Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Some shield volcanoes are so big that they look like a whole mountain range! Good examples are the Ilgachuz Range and the Rainbow Range in Canada. These Canadian volcanoes formed when the North American continent moved over a hotspot. This is similar to the hotspot that feeds the volcanoes in Hawaii. Other shield volcanoes can be found in places like Washington, Oregon, and the Galapagos Islands. The Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion Island is one of the most active shield volcanoes, erupting about once a year.
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Shield Volcanoes in Space
Shield volcanoes are not just found on Earth! The biggest mountain known in our entire solar system is Olympus Mons on Mars. It is a shield volcano. Shield volcanoes on Mars are much taller and wider than those we see on Earth.
Why Earth's Shield Volcanoes Are Different
On Earth, our planet's plate tectonics play a big role. Hotspot volcanoes, like those in Hawaii, eventually move away from the deep source of their lava. This means that individual volcanoes don't grow as massive as they might otherwise. Shield volcanoes usually form where Earth's plates are pulling apart (constructive boundaries) or above hotspots. However, some large shield volcanoes, like those in the Cascade Range in northern California and Oregon, are in more complex areas where plates interact in different ways.
Images for kids
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Mauna Loa, a shield volcano in Hawaii.
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An Ancient Greek warrior's shield. Its shape is similar to many shield volcanoes.
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Skjaldbreiður is a shield volcano in Iceland. Its name means broad shield.
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A scaled image showing Olympus Mons (top) and the Hawaiian island chain (bottom). Martian volcanoes are much larger than Earth's.
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Pāhoehoe lava flows into the Pacific Ocean on Hawaiʻi island.
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Puʻu ʻŌʻō, a smaller cinder cone volcano on Kīlauea, with a lava fountain at dusk in June 1983.
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Nāhuku, a famous lava tube on Hawaiʻi island. It is now a tourist spot in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
See also
In Spanish: Volcán en escudo para niños
