What is lava?

Lava is a hot fluid made of delicious chocolate used in brownies and cake… errr my apologies! My brain is still in dessert mode from the holiday season. But like the chocolate in lava cake, volcanic lava, or magma, is an extremely hot liquid that comes from the inner layers of the Earth.

The average temperature of lava is from 700 to 1,200 °C (1,300 to 2,200 °F), which is too hot and dangerous for any living creature to endure. Ouch!! When lava erupts from Earth’s surface it has a red-to-yellow color, but as air cools the lava down it forms a black crust that keeps the insides liquid. 

Scientists have found that there are many types of lava, depending on the minerals present. One of the most common elements in lava is silicon dioxide. Yes! The same material that makes up sand and glass (Check our article “What is Glass Made Out Of?”). 

Other minerals are iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium. The ratios of these minerals to silicon dioxide have effects on the temperature of the lava and its viscosity (how thick). The temperature  and viscosity of lava affects the shape of the volcanoes and where they erupt. Steep-sloped volcanoes are formed and shaped from viscous lava, while flatter less viscous lava shape flatter volcanoes.

In recent news, geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded earthquake activity that led to lava erupting from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

By Jose Veleta