lava
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.5|Fresh lava from Fagradalsfjall volcano eruption in Iceland, 2023 Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or underwater, usually at temperatures from . Lava may be erupted directly onto the land surface or onto the sea floor or it may be ejected into the atmosphere before falling back down. The solid volcanic rock resulting from subsequent cooling of the molten material is often also ca
AI overview
Lava is molten or partially molten rock that erupts from inside Earth (or other planets and moons) onto the surface, typically through volcanoes or cracks in the crust, at extremely high temperatures. It matters because it shapes landscapes and geological features through its cooling and solidification into solid volcanic rock.
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Article
33 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Properties
- Composition
- Silicate
- Felsic
- Intermediate
- Mafic
- Ultramafic
- Alkaline
- Non-silicate
- Rheology
- Temperature
- Morphology
- {{okina}}A{{okina}}ā
- Pāhoehoe
- Blocks
- Pillows
- Landforms
- Volcanoes
- Cinder and spatter cones
- Kīpukas
- Lava domes and coulées
- Lava tubes
- Lava lakes
- Lava delta
- Lava fountains
- Hazards
- Towns destroyed by lava flows
- Towns damaged by lava flows
- Towns destroyed by tephra
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|upright=1.5|Fresh lava from Fagradalsfjall volcano eruption in Iceland, 2023 Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or underwater, usually at temperatures from . Lava may be erupted directly onto the land surface or onto the sea floor or it may be ejected into the atmosphere before falling back down. The solid volcanic rock resulting from subsequent cooling of the molten material is often also called lava.
A lava flow is an outpouring of lava during an effusive eruption. (An explosive eruption, by contrast, produces a mixture of volcanic ash and other fragments called tephra, not lava flows.) The viscosity of most molten lava is about that of ketchup, roughly 10,000 to 100,000 times that of water (the latter two substances measured at and 1 atm). Even so, lava can flow great distances before cooling causes it to solidify, because lava exposed to air quickly develops a solid crust that insulates the remaining liquid lava, helping to keep it hot and inviscid enough to continue flowing.