TYPES OF LAVA

Just to clear out some confusions, what is the difference between magma and lava?

Magma is composed of molten rock and is stored in the Earth’s crust; while

lava is magma that reaches the surface of our planet through a volcano vent.

The type of Lava depends on the type of Magma it originated from.

For this blog's topic, we'll talk about the types of lava. The type of lava can determine the shape and type of a volcano.

The main types of lava have been given Hawaiian names, because of the volcanic nature of the Hawaiian islands.

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A’a

Pronounced “ah-ah”, this is a basaltic lava that doesn’t flow very quickly. It looks like a slowly moving mass of hot jello, with cooler, rough surface. Once it hardens, the sharp spiny surface of a’a lava is extremely difficult to walk across. These types of lava erupt at temperatures above 1000 to 1100 degrees C.

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Pahoehoe

Pronounced “pa-hoy-hoy”, this type of lava is much thinner and less viscous than a’a. It can flow down the slopes of a volcano in vast rivers. The surface of the lava congeals into a thin crust that looks very smooth. Pahoehoe lava can also form lava tubes, where the rock hardens around a fast-moving liquid core. When that core flows out of the tube, a long tunnel remains. Pahoehoe erupts at temperatures of 1100 to 1200 C.

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Pillow Lava

Pillow lava is typically found erupting from underwater volcano vents. As soon as the lava contacts the water, it’s cooled down and forms a hardened shell. As more lava issues from the vent, the shell of lava cracks and more “pillows” come out of these cracks.

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References:

http://www.earthobservatory.sg/faq-on-earth-sciences/what-difference-between-magma-and-lava

https://www.universetoday.com/27904/types-of-lava/