The Stratovolcano reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Stratovolcano

A stratovolcano, composite cone, or composite volcano is a tall conical mountain volcano composed of both hardened lava and volcanic ash. These volcanoes form because the lava that formed them was viscous, and so cooled and hardened before spreading, making the steep mountain. Such lava tends to be high in silica. At the opposite end of the spectrum are shield volcanoes, which are formed from less viscous lava, giving them a wide base, and shallow slope.

Because most volcanoes have a stratified (layered) structure, some volcanologists prefer to use the term stratovolcano.

Examples are:

• Kollóttadyngja in North-East Iceland
• Mayon Volcano in the Philippines
• Mount Erebus in Antarctica,
• Mt. Fuji in Japan
• Mount Rainier in the northwestern United States
• Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand's North Island
• Mount Taranaki (formerly Mount Egmont) in New Zealand's North Island
• Skjaldbreiður in South-west Iceland
• Teide on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
• Trölladyngja in North-East Iceland
• Vesuvius in Italy

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