Which volcano type is defined as a large, steep-sided volcano with violent eruptions?

• A. Composite Volcano
• B. Cinder Cone Volcano
• C. Caldera
• D. Epicenter

Answer: (A)

Stratovolcanoes are large, steep-sided structures built from alternating layers of hardened lava flows and pyroclastic material. Their magma is viscous and silica-rich, which traps gases and leads to explosive, violent eruptions. This combination—great size, steep profile, and explosive activity—matches the description given. Cinder cones are smaller and built mainly from tephra, calderas are huge collapsed craters after major eruptions rather than tall, steep cones, and an epicenter is a point on the Earth's surface above an earthquake focus, not a volcano. So the described volcano is a composite (stratovolcano).