There are three main types of volcanoes: Cinder Cone, Shield, and Strato. Cinder Cone is the type of volcano we think about whenever we think about a regular volcano. It is tall and cone shaped. The next volcano is a shield volcano. It's called a shield volcano because it looks like a shield. It is relatively flat and short, but really wide. It's not typically a lava flowing volcano. The last kind is the Strato volcano. It is really tall, usually snow covered, and the deadliest. It shoots out lava very fast, and even if you are 30 miles away from it, the lava will still catch up to you because of its speed. The lava goes so fast because of the momentum it builds up as it rushes down the volcano.