Photograph by J.D. Griggs on 5 October 1983 Lava fountain of the Pu`u `O`o cinder and spatter cone on Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i.

Lava fountain A jet of lava sprayed into the air by the rapid formation and expansion of gas bubbles in the molten rock is called a lava fountain. Lava fountains typically range from about 10 to 100 m in height, but occasionally reach more than 500 m. Lava fountains erupt from isolated vents, along fissures, within active lava lakes, and from a lava tube when water gains access to the tube in a confined space (see type of explosive activity where lava enters the sea, from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory).

More about lava fountains

Types of fountains

• Dome fountain
• Arching fountain

Tephra formed by basaltic lava fountains

• Pele's hair
• Spatter
• Scoria
• Reticulite

Did you know?

• A lava fountain erupted by Izu-Oshima volcano in Japan in 1986 reached a height of 1,600 m, the highest ever recorded.
• The highest lava fountain observed in historical time at Kilauea Volcano in Hawai`i reached about 580 m above the vent during an eruption in Kilauea Iki Crater in 1959.
• The world's longest continuous lava fountain in historical time was erupted from the 25-km long Laki Fissure in southern Iceland in 1783.