Question

Belknap volcano
Belknap is a shield volcano, named after its gently sloping sides, which form a long, low hill. In the foreground is the dark lava flows that make up the land around the volcano.


Do you think these two volcanic mountains formed in the same way? Explain your answer using evidence from the pictures.

Answer 1

No — they did not form the same way.

Evidence from the pictures and what those shapes mean:
- Belknap is a shield volcano: very broad, gently sloping sides and extensive dark lava flows in the foreground. That shape and the visible flow fields indicate repeated effusive eruptions of low‑viscosity (basaltic) lava that spread out long distances.
- The other mountain (the steep, conical peak in the other picture) has much steeper slopes and a sharper profile, which is characteristic of a cone built of alternating layers of ash, pumice and more viscous lava from explosive eruptions (a stratovolcano or cinder cone).

So the two formed by different eruption styles — one by fluid lava spreading out (shield), the other by more explosive, fragmental deposits and viscous lava building a steep cone.