π Planet Earth π Volcanoes and earthquakes
Lava
π In short
Lava is very hot melted rock that flows out of volcanoes or cracks in the ground. At first it glows red or orange and runs like a river of fire, then it slowly cools and hardens into black rock.
π€© Did you know?
- Lava is 7 to 12 times hotter than boiling water.
- The black rock lava forms is called basalt.
- Volcanic soil becomes very fertile after some years.
- Scientists study lava wearing special clothes that protect them from the heat.
π Find out more
π From magma to lava
Deep in the very hot Earth, rocks melt into what we call magma. When magma comes out of a volcano onto the surface, we call it lava.
π Very hot
When it comes out, lava is much hotter than boiling water, melting many things and burning everything in its path.
π‘ Fast or slow
Some lava is runny and flows fast like a river, and some is thick and sticky and moves very slowly. Thick lava causes more violent eruptions.
π― New land
When lava cools, it makes new land! Hawaii and Iceland formed from lava piling up layer upon layer over a very long time.
πΈ More pictures
𧩠Test yourself
1 What do we call melted rock underground?
2 What happens to lava when it cools?
3 Which picture shows βLavaβ?
π Discover more
π· Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Giles Laurent Β· CC BY-SA 4.0
- Brocken Inaglory; edited by jjron Β· CC BY-SA 3.0
- United States Geological Survey Β· Public domain
