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Shield volcano
A shield volcano is a wide volcano with shallowly-sloping sides. Shield volcanoes are formed by lava flows of low viscosity - lava that flows easily. Consequently, a volcanic mountain having a broad profile is built up over time by flow after flow of relatively fluid basaltic lava issuing from vents or fissures on the surface of the volcano. Many of the largest volcanoes on Earth are shield volcanoes. The largest is Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii; all the volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands are shield volcanoes. There are also shield volcanoes, for example, in Washington, Oregon, and the Galapagos Islands. The Piton de la Fournaise, on Reunion Island, is one of the more active shield volcanoes on earth, with one eruption per year on average.
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Earth & Climate News
January 21, 2026
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Jan. 14, 2026 For thousands of years, wildfires on Alaska’s North Slope were rare. That changed sharply in the 20th century, when warming temperatures dried soils and fueled the spread of shrubs, setting the stage for intense fires. Peat cores and satellite ...
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Latest Headlines
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Jan. 17, 2026 Scientists are uncovering a hidden and surprisingly complex earthquake zone beneath Northern California by tracking swarms of tiny earthquakes that are far too weak to feel. These faint tremors are ...
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Jan. 12, 2026 Microscopic ocean algae produce a huge share of Earth’s oxygen—but they need iron to do it. New field research shows that when iron is scarce, phytoplankton waste energy and photosynthesis ...
Jan. 10, 2026 Crystals hidden in Australia’s oldest rocks have revealed new clues about how Earth and the Moon formed. The study suggests Earth’s continents didn’t begin growing until hundreds of millions of ...
Jan. 7, 2026 Scientists have discovered that wildfires release far more air-polluting gases than previously estimated. Many of these hidden emissions can transform into fine particles that are dangerous to ...
Jan. 6, 2026 Earthquakes happen daily, sometimes with devastating consequences, yet predicting them remains out of reach. What scientists can do is map the hidden layers beneath the surface that control how ...
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