Also known as a scoria cone, the cinder cone is basically characterized by the depth of its formation; typically notable as steep and bowl-shaped. Generally formed from a single vent, the cinder cone is generated by a Strombolian eruption -- the kind of eruption that essentially bubbles above the mouth of a volcano. Visible from the Cascades Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, the Lava Butte Cinder Cone is a 500-foot-tall volcano located in Marion County, Oregon. It is thought that this volcano formed approximately 7,000 ago.
The result of fluid lava flows, with low-explosivity, shield cones generally form when lava pours out of a volcano opening or even a group of openings typically referred to as vents. Shaped much like a convex mirror, shield cones are much more broad than cinder cones. Many of the Hawaiian islands started out as volcanoes with shield cones; Kilaeua and Mauna Loa are two famous examples. The warrior shield, is the nickname given to this type of common volcanic cone.
Spatter volcanic cones often form without explosions; a feature typically common in other volcanic constructions. When lava emerges from a fissure vent (or elongated crack in the earth's surface), it does not jet out necessarily but simply oozes and spurts from beneath the lithosphere -- the thinnest, outermost portion of the earth's surface. The lava is generally so low to the ground, it doesn't have much cooling time as is the case with most other formations.
Generally a concave structure, the composite volcano cone is often formulated from very violent eruptions -- Mount St. Helens is one such example. With steep sides and gentle slopes, the composite cone, otherwise known as a stratovolcano, usually forms at the site of a subduction zone -- continental or ocean plates beneath the surface that crush together, then send one plate above or below another. Mount Vesuvius is an example of a volcano (with a composite cone) that killed thousands of people centuries ago.