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
Tephra formed by basaltic lava fountains
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.
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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.
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The world's longest continuous lava fountain in historical time
was erupted from the 25-km long Laki Fissure in southern Iceland
in 1783.