What is lava and what temperature is it?

One of the most feared and at the same time beautiful materials in the world is lava. An element that from a distance seems precious, but that can eliminate entire towns. It is often confused with magma, although lava is actually a kind of magma. To know it in depth, today in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about what is lava and what temperature is it.

The magma They are the rocks inside our planet but when it rises through the earth's crust and reaches the surface turns into lava. Therefore, we can consider lava as a more liquid magma that appears on the surface.

Lava and magma have very different characteristics since the presence outside causes changes with respect to the situation inside. Upon reaching the surface, the lava is subjected to atmospheric pressures which causes it to lose the gases that had built up during its ascent through the earth's crust. Along with this, ambient temperatures cause lava to cool faster than magma, causing a much faster change in lava than magma.

In these other lessons we talk about the parts of a volcano and we will tell you why are there volcanoes On Earth, this way, you will know better what lava is and how our planet works.

To continue with this lesson on what lava is and what temperature it is, we must talk about the different characteristics that make lava unique. Some of these features are:

1. Lava is a substance with a large viscosity, much superior to other elements such as water.
2. It can advance for great distances before solidifying.
3. When it begins to travel the earth's surface, the temperature of the lava is between 700º C and 1200º C.
4. Its temperature and viscosity are related, the longer it passes, the lower its temperature and therefore it solidifies, losing its characteristic viscosity.
5. Once solidified, lava becomes volcanic rock.
6. The speed of lava is highly variable, depending on factors such as its viscosity and the terrain. It is known that it can reach up to 30 km per hour.
7. The amount of lava is also a highly variable factor, ranging from a few tens of cubic meters to hundreds of millions of cubic meters.
8. Lava is an extremely destructive, destroying everything in its path.
9. Lava does not usually cause many human deaths, as it is generally slow. But the hot gases it causes, and the times when lava moves faster, are responsible for several deaths.
10. Lava change the landscape where it passes, reconstruction is not as easy as with other natural phenomena.

Lava is related to a large number of concepts, related to its expulsion, movement and formation. Next we are going to talk about these concepts to fully understand how complicated lava is.

Volcanoes

The element that everyone relates to lava, being the most recognized of all the concepts we are going to talk about. Volcanoes are geological structures created by lava, being the first thing that lava forms when it erupts. Volcanoes can be of many types, depending on various factors, such as the type of lava they expel. Some types of volcanoes are the following:

• Hawaiian: With flowing lava.
• Strombolian: Fluid lava with a large amount of gases.
• Vulcaniana: Lava little fluid.
• Peleana: Washes very viscous.

Lava domes

Another concept related to lava are domes. They are masses of lava that accumulate at the top of the chimney due to their high viscosity. The height of the domes can reach more than one hundred meters, growing for months.

Lava tubes

Lava tubes are a kind of volcanic caves that form inside lava flows while lava flows. The formation of lava tubes is very common in the vast majority of volcanoes, it is even believed that these formations may also exist on other planets.

Lava waterfall and lava fountain

Sometimes due to certain events volcanoes suffer very spectacular eruptions. Examples are the fall of the lava by a precipice forming a gigantic cascade of lava, or when the lava rises up many meters before falling, forming a kind of lava fountain.

Lava lakes

Sometimes a volcanic cone can fill with lava, but not erupt. This lava that fills the cone is called a lava lake, and in most cases it does not usually last long. Even so, there are cases of permanent lava lakes such as the Mount Erebus in Antarctica.