What is a basaltic volcano?

When classifying volcanoes by lava composition, basaltic volcanoes are ones in which lava is composed of mostly basaltic rock. Basalt is the most common rock in the Earth's crust. Andesite and rhyolite are other common components of lava.

Several classification systems are used for volcanoes. They can be classified by eruption style, composition, structure or size, but there is a great amount of overlap among these classification systems. The three most commonly defined types of volcanoes are the shield volcano, stratovolcano and cinder cone. Any of these three basic types of volcanoes could also be categorized as a basaltic volcano depending upon the type of rock created by the lava flow.