The smooth and blocky lavas

How volcanoes actually erupt

Chapter 1

The deep underground kitchen

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 2

The great escape routes

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 3

Two ways to blow a top

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 4

Under the sea and ice

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 5

The global aftermath

View / Create

Answer

YOUR GOAL

Master of How volcanoes actually erupt

Ch 3 · Two ways to blow a top

Fizz or Flow

BETA

artiteacher Fizz or Flow

artiteacher Volcanic Eruptions

Kīlauea flows, / St. Helens blows, / yeah, that's how she goes!

artiteacher The smooth and blocky lavas

The smooth and blocky lavas

artiteacher Hawaiian terms describe the distinct textures of cooled volcanic flows.

Explosive blasts of gray ash

artiteacher High-silica and gas-rich magmas shatter violently into towering columns of ash.

Fun Fact

Pahoehoe lava: The word 'Pahoehoe' translates from Hawaiian to 'smooth, unbroken wave,' perfectly describing its satiny, ropy appearance when cooled.

Gossip

Which lava texture would you find more challenging to hike across?

Quiz

How fast can a pyroclastic flow travel down the slopes of an erupting volcano?

artiteacher Explosive blasts of gray ash

Quiz

What is the name for a superheated avalanche of ash, gas, and rock racing down a volcano?

artiteacher Effusive flows of gentle red

Quiz

What primary factor makes an eruption explosive rather than effusive?

artiteacher The deadly pyroclastic flow

Quiz

Which famous US volcano produced a massive explosive eruption in May 1980?

Quiz

What is volcanic ash actually made of?

Quiz

Which Hawaiian term describes lava that cools into a smooth, billowy, or ropy texture?

Quiz

Which type of eruption is characterized by gentle, slow-moving rivers of basaltic lava?

Quiz

What does the Hawaiian word 'Aa' describe when talking about cooled volcanic lava?