(Fig.2.8) Spatter Cone.

     When hot erupting lava contains just enough explosive gas to prevent the formation of a lava flow, but not enough to shatter it into small fragments the lava is torn by expanding gases into fluid hot clots, ranging in size from 1cm to 50cm across, called spatter.

     When the spatter falls back to Earth the clots weld themselves together and solidify forming steep-sided accumulations. These accumulations focused on an individual vent are called spatter cones.