Molten, or hot liquefied, rock located deep below the Earth’s surface is called magma. Magma is formed when temperatures within Earth’s crust or mantle are very hot and when pressure in places within those layers decreases. When a volcano erupts or a deep crack occurs in the Earth, the magma rises and overflows. When it flows out of the volcano or crack, usually mixed with steam and gas, it is called lava. Fresh lava ranges from 1,300° to 2,200° F (700° to 1,200° C) in temperature and glows red hot to white hot as it flows.
Enormous quantities of lava, enough to flood the whole countryside, may be produced by the eruption of a major volcano. During the eruption of the volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii in 1887, about 21/2 million tons (2.3 million metric tons) of lava per hour poured out for more than six days.
Some lavas are liquid enough to flow downhill at 35 miles (55 kilometers) per hour. Others move at the rate of only inches per day. The speed of the flow depends on the temperature and composition.
All lavas contain a high percentage of silica, a compound made up of the chemical elements silicon and oxygen. Lavas containing from 65 to 75 percent silica are called rhyolites; those with 50 to 65 percent silica are andesites; and those with less than 50 percent silica are basalts.
Rhyolites melt at lower temperatures and are lighter in weight and color than basalts. Rhyolitic lavas are quite viscous, or thick, and contain large quantities of gas. The gas often boils off with explosive force, expelling large amounts of glowing ash and cinders. Sometimes, however, it is released more slowly or even trapped as bubbles when the lava hardens. When the bubbles are tiny and closely packed, a lightweight stone called pumice is formed. Any kind of lava may turn into pumice, but most of it develops in rhyolites.
Pumice is used commercially for cleaning and polishing wood, metal, and other surfaces. More recently it has found use in precast masonry, poured concrete, insulation, acoustical tile, and plaster. Rhyolite pumices are white. Andesite pumices are usually yellow or brown. Basaltic pumices are black. Commercially useful pumices are found in the Canary Islands, Iceland, Italy, Hungary, Greece, New Zealand, and Germany. In the United States it is mined in the Rocky Mountains, on the West Coast, and in Hawaii.
Andesites, which are named for the Andes Mountains, are a large family of rocks found in nearly all volcanic areas. They are of three basic types: quartz-bearing (called dacites); hornblende- and biotite-andesites, quite rich in feldspar; and pyroxene-andesites, the most common kind.
Basaltic eruptions can produce two different types of flow. Each type is designated by a Hawaiian name: the aa and the pahoehoe. Aa lava moves slowly and is covered with tough, cindery rock called clinker. The pahoehoe develops as a thick flow that contains more gas and is erupted at about 2,000° F (1,100° C). A flexible, glassy skin forms on the surface, insulating the lava that lies beneath and keeping it molten for weeks or even years.
Volcanoes and cracks may pour forth lava under the sea as well as on land. Many islands have been formed by successive lava flows building a volcanic island higher and higher, until it rises above sea level. The Hawaiian Islands were formed in this manner. In 1963 the island of Surtsey, near Iceland, was also formed in this way.