Volcanoes are vents in the Earth's crust that allow for the release of heat, gas, and debris.
There are three major types of volcanoes, based on their explosive style: composite cone, shield, and cinder cone.
Composite cone volcanoes are cone-shaped volcanoes composed of layers of lava, ash and rock debris. Composite cone volcanoes can grow to heights of 8,000 feet or more and have explosive eruptions. One famous composite cone volcano is Mount Vesuvius, which buried the Roman village of Pompeii in ash almost 2,000 years ago.
Read on to learn about the other two types: http://bit.ly/1I2HNYl