A volcano is a conical hill or mountain formed by material from the mantle being forced through an

opening or vent in the Earth's crust.

There are three main types of volcano - composite or strato, shield and dome.
Composite Volcanoes
Composite volcanoes, sometimes known as strato volcanoes, are steep sided cones formed from layers of
ash and [lava] flows. The eruptions from these volcanoes may be a pyroclastic flow rather than a flow of
lava. A pyroclastic flow is a superheated mixture of hot steam, ash, rock and dust. A pyroclastic flow can
travel down the side of a volcano at very high speeds with temperatures over 400 degrees celsius.
Composite volcanoes can rise over 8000 feet.
When composite volcanoes erupt they are explosive and pose a threat to nearby life and property.
Eruptions are explosive due to the thick, highly viscous lava that is produced by composite cone volcanoes.
This viscous lava has a lot to do with why they are shaped the way they are. The thick lava cannot travel
far down the slope of the volcano before it cools.Composite volcanoes are usually found at destructive
plate margins. Examples of composite volcanoes include Mount Fuji (Japan), Mount St Helens (USA) and
Mount Pinatubo (Philippines).
Shield Volcanoes
Shield volcanoes are low with gently sloping sides and are formed from layers of lava. Eruptions are
typically non-explosive. Shield volcanoes produce fast flowing fluid [lava] that can flow for many miles.
Eruptions tend to be frequent but relatively gentle. Although these eruptions destroy property, death or
injury to humans rarely occurs.
Shield volcanoes are usually found at constructive boundaries and sometimes at volcanic hotspots.
Examples of shield volcanoes include Mount Kilauea and Maunaloa on Hawaii.
Dome (Acid Lava Cones)
Acid [lava] is much thicker than [lava] which flows from shield volcanoes. Dome volcanoes have much
steeper sides than shield volcanoes. This is because the lava is thick and sticky. It cannot flow very far
before ot cools and hardens. An example is Puy de Dome in the Auvergne region of France which last
erupted over 1 million years ago.
Geologists generally group volcanoes into four main kinds--cinder cones, composite volcanoes,
shield volcanoes, and lava domes.
Cinder cones
Cinder cones are the simplest type of volcano. They are built from particles and blobs of congealed lava
ejected from a single vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small
fragments that solidify and fall as cinders around the vent to form a circular or oval cone. Most cinder
cones have a bowl-shapedcrater at the summit and rarely rise more than a thousand feet or so above their
surroundings. Cinder cones are numerous in western North America as well as throughout other volcanic
terrains of the world.

Those definitions are not set in stone, and they mean different things to different people and to
different volcanoes. One of the simpler ways to answer is that an active volcano is one that has
erupted since the last ice age (i.e., in the past ~10,000 years). That is the definition of active used
by the Global Volcanism Program in their catalogs. A dormant volcano would then be one that
hasnt erupted in the past 10,000 years, but which is expected to erupt again. An extinct volcano
would be one that nobody expects to ever erupt again. These are human definitions of natural
things there have been a number of eruptions from extinct volcanoes!

What is the difference between an active, erupting, dormant and extinct volcano?
An active volcano is a volcano that has had at least one eruption during the past 10,000 years. An
active volcano might be erupting or dormant.
An erupting volcano is an active volcano that is having an eruption...
A dormant volcano is an active volcano that is not erupting, but supposed to erupt again.
An extinct volcano has not had an eruption for at least 10,000 years and is not expected to erupt
again in a comparable time scale of the future.
Volcanoes of the Philippines (53 volcanoes)

North of Luzon (5 volcanoes): Iraya | Unnamed | Babuyan Claro | Didicas | Camiguin de Babuyanes
Luzon Island (25 volcanoes): Bulusan | Pocdol Mountains | Malindig | Mayon | Masaraga | Malinao |
Iriga | Isarog | Panay | Taal | Labo | Banahaw | San Pablo | Makiling | Laguna | Mariveles | Natib |
Pinatubo | Arayat | Amorong | Santo Tomas | Patoc | Binuluan | Ambalatungan | Cagua
Central Philippines (8 volcanoes): Biliran | Cancanajag | Mahagnao | Silay | Mandalagan | Canlaon |
Cabalian | Cuernos de Negros

Sulu Islands (1 volcano): Jolo

Mindanao (14 volcanoes): Paco | Hibok-Hibok | Balatukan | Malindang | Kalatungan | Musuan |
Ragang | Latukan | Makaturing | Leonard Range | Apo | Matutum | Parker | Balut