Mount Pelée has been labeled by volcanologists as a stratovolcano. A stratovolcano is a conical mountain composed of many layers of hardened lava, tephra (a solid matter such as ash or dust), and volcanic ash. Some of the characteristics of a stratovolcano are that they have a steep profile and have periodically explosive eruptions. The lava of this volcano is viscous or in other words, a high resistance to flow. Many stratovolcanoes exceed a height of 2500 meters.
(Center Picture: An erupting stratovolcano)
