Is it known how may active and not active volcanoes are on the planet? Are Mt. Sinai and Mt. Ararat former volcanoes? Is it known when they last erupted. What type of volcano would they be classified as? If you were to pick one volcano to represent these three types what would they be? Shield, Cinder cone and Composite. Thanks in advance for any help you provide me. I'll be using this imformation in my science project.

rocky Michael Leonard

Michael,

You have asked many questions; lets see if I can answer them!

To give an answer to how many active and inactive volcanoes there are requires an understanding of what is meant by active. Many people only think a volcano is active when red lava or ash are erupting. But for volcanologists, "active" means does the volcano have the possibility of erupting again.The Smithsonian Institution uses this last definition; their book, Volcanoes of the World, lists about 1500 active volcanoes. The number of inactive volcanoes is unknown, because nobody ever bothered to count them!

I can tell that you are interested in the volcanoes of the Middle East. Mt. Ararat is a dormant (or sleeping) volcano, which will erupt again some day. Ararat is a composite or stratovolcano, and according to the Bible, is the place where Noah's arc came to rest after the great flood. You can see a picture of Ararat taken by astronauts on the Space Shuttle by clicking here.

I do not believe Mt. Sinai is a volcano, because there are no volcanoes on the Sinai Peninsula or in other parts of Egypt. But Mt. Sinai could be made of very old volcanic rocks. Perhaps some other VolcanoWorld user knows about Mt. Sinai?

You also asked, Michael, what are good examples of different types of volcanoes. For a shield volcano my favorite is Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Fuji is Japan is a famous composite or stratovolcano, but Mt. St. Helens in Washington state is also a famous one too. As for a cinder cone, I think that Paricutin - the one that erupted in a Mexican corn field in 1943 - is a great example.

I hope your report in your 4th grade class goes well!

Chuck Wood, University of North Dakota 

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