What about volcanoes?

Home page

How do they form?

Benefits and Hazards

Types of Volcanoes

Types of Eruptions

Hot or Not?

Top 10

Map

Our Site

Vocabulary

References

¿Habla español?
Vaya aquí

 

Imagine having aluminum jewelry instead of gold or silver. Or having foil money. That wouldn't be fun, would it? Thankfully we use gold and paper money, but what would happen if the only type of metal available was aluminum? We would be buying things with rolls of Reynolds Foil Wrap when we go shopping. It's a good thing that there is a variety of metal more valuable than aluminum! Well, just like there is a variety of metals, there are also different kinds of lava. This page will give you information about all your lava needs.

Different types of lava are measured by temperature (in Cº). Some ways of measuring the temperature of lava are by looking through an optical pyrometer.

Another way to measure the temperature of lava is by using a sheathed thermocouple (a fancy type of turkey thermometer) where a probe inserted into lava and the temperature is read using a hand held device.

Other ways of measuring the temperature of lava is by using infrared techniques (heat vision). Volcanologists use infrared instruments to see heat. A rough estimate can be taken just by looking at the color of the lava in question.

Color
Estimated temp. (ºC)
Brownish-red 500-650°
Dark red 650-800°
Bright red 800-1000°
Orange 1000-1150°
Yellowish-white 1150-1300°

There are also two different types of lava: A'a and pahoehoe. A'a forms when lava flows rapidly. The rapid heat loss then results in an increase of viscosity. The surface crust is torn by the different flows of the lava. Once torn the lava beneath can no longer move fast enough to fix the tear. Then bits of the crust fall inside with the liquid lava which then form chunks of lava. A'a consists of a high discharge rate of magma must be on steep volcano slopes

Pahoehoe forms when lava flows slowly. A skin is then formed insolating the lava. Tears in the crust are healed quickly. Pahoehoe consist of low magma discharge rates, usually because of the low volcano slopes. However, a Pahoe flow can become an A'a flow if the slope becomes steeper.

What is lava made of? Since lava is basically melted rock, it is made mostly of minerals. A few minerals found in lava are:
• quartz
• olivine
• pyroxene
• feldspar
• mica
• amphibole