Lava flows are streams of molten rock that pour or ooze from an erupting vent. Lava is erupted during either nonexplosive activity or explosive lava fountains.

What to do if there is a lava flow?

Seek shelter indoors. If caught in a rockfall, roll into a ball to protect your head. If near a stream or river, be aware of rising water and possible mudflows in low-lying areas. Move up-slope as quickly as possible.

What is an example of lava flow?

Best known examples of pahoehoe lava flows are from the Big Island of Hawaii and the term pahoehoe itself (just as aa) originates from the Hawaiian language. Pahoehoe lava flows. Kilauea volcano, Puu Oo vent. Forming basaltic pahoehoe lava flow in Hawaii.

What is the difference between a lava flow and a volcano?

If this molten rock makes it to the surface and keeps flowing like a liquid, its called lava. Magmas vary in their chemical composition, which gives them—and the volcanoes that contain them—different properties. Silicic magmas, on the other hand, tend to form when the lighter continental crust melts.

What causes lava flow?

Lava forms when magma erupts from a volcano. As pressure is released gases, dissolved in the magma, bubble out so the composition of lava changes. Most lava flows are formed by the eruption of hot (around 1200oC) basalt magma, (see video clip above).

Can you drive through lava?

A: No. Any attempt to drive across an active lava flow, even one that has partly solidified to form a thin crust, is likely to lead to disaster. With a temperature of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, fresh lava will quickly melt rubber tires and ignite gas tanks.

How far can lava flow?

On the Earth, most lava flows are less than 10 km (6.2 mi) long, but some pāhoehoe flows are more than 50 km (31 mi) long. Some flood basalt flows in the geologic record extended for hundreds of kilometers.

What is the most powerful type of volcano?

Stratovolcanoes are considered the most violent. Mount St. Helens, in Washington state, is a stratovolcano that erupted on May 18, 1980.

Can lava flow uphill?

Since it tends to flow more as a thick liquid it can pour uphill as well as downhill and can create a huge variety of interesting shapes. If pahoehoe lava flows over a fairly flat ground it will coat the ground much like a parking lot - with a thick, smooth, flat coating of lava.

What are the 4 types of volcano?

Geologists generally group volcanoes into four main kinds--cinder cones, composite volcanoes, shield volcanoes, and lava domes.

What are the 3 types of volcano?

Individual volcanoes vary in the volcanic materials they produce, and this affects the size, shape, and structure of the volcano. There are three types of volcanoes: cinder cones (also called spatter cones), composite volcanoes (also called stratovolcanoes), and shield volcanoes.

Can you outrun lava?

Could I outrun the lava and make it to safety? Well, technically, yes. Most lava flows — especially those from shield volcanoes, the less explosive type found in Hawaii — are pretty sluggish. As long as the lava doesnt find its way into a tube- or chute-shaped valley, it will probably move slower than a mile per hour.

Which is the largest volcano?

Mauna Loa Mauna Loa on the Island Hawaiʻi is the worlds largest volcano.

What are the 7 types of volcano?

The result is the classic cone shape of composite volcanoes. A cross section of a composite volcano reveals alternating layers of rock and ash: (1) magma chamber, (2) bedrock, (3) pipe, (4) ash layers, (5) lava layers, (6) lava flow, (7) vent, (8) lava, (9) ash cloud.

Which is typically the largest type of volcano?

Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are shield volcanoes. They are the worlds largest active volcanoes, rising over 9 km above the sea floor around the island of Hawaii.

Will lava melt bones?

But yes, youre correct. Anything living that has bones would certainly be destroyed by lava.