Types of Eruptions:

Explosive and Nonexplosive

Chapter 9
 A. Types of Lava
• There are 4 main types of lava:
1. A’a
2. Pahoehoe
3. Pillow
4. Blocky
B. A’a-Lava
1. A’a lava flows have a very rough,
rubbly surface because of their high
eruption rates.
As the upper surface of the lava cools
and becomes rock, it is continually
ripped apart by the moving molten
lava inside the flow.
2. Pieces of the rocky surface are broken,
rolled and tumbled along as the lava
flow moves. When finally cooled to a
solid, a’a lava flows look like a
jagged heap of loose rock that is
very difficult to walk over without
stumbling and getting cut.
C. Pahoehoe
1. Pahoehoe lava flows have a
relatively smooth surface texture
because of their low eruption
rates.
2. Pahoehoe lava flows develop
surface crusts that form thick plates
with ropy and/or gently undulating
surfaces.
 1. Pillow lava forms from
D. Pillow Lava underwater eruptions
2. “Pillow” lava is so-called
because it forms rounded
lumps that look like fat
pillows, or the bolster
cushions of a sofa.
3. The pillows can form piles a
few to tens of meters high.
4. Pillow lava flows can be
many hundreds of meters to
kilometers long.
 E. Blocky Lava
1. Cool stiff lava that does not travel far from
the erupting vent.
2. It cools and form sharp edged chunks.
 F. Pyroclastic Material from
EXPLOSIVE ERUPTIONS
1. 4 types of pyroclastic material
a. Volcanic blocks
b. Volcanic bombs
c. Lapilli
d. Volcanic Ash
G. Volcanic Blocks
1. Volcanic blocks
are solidified
rock fragments
greater than 64
mm in diameter.
2. Blocks
commonly are
ejected during
explosive
eruptions and
consist of older
pieces of the
volcano.
H. Volcanic Bombs
1. Volcanic bombs are
large pieces of magma
that harden in the air
as the erupt out of a
volcano.
2. They can form in a
variety of sizes and
shapes.
I. Lapilli 1. Lapilli means
“little stones”
in Italian.
2. They are tiny
pieces of
magma that
harden before
they hit the
ground.
 1. Volcanic ash
J. Volcanic Ash forms when
gases in stiff
magma expand
rapidly.
2. The walls of the
gas bubbles
explode into tiny
glasslike slivers.
3. Ash makes up
most of a
pyroclastic
eruption.
 Review
1. List the 4 types of lava.
2. This type of lava is very rough with jagged edges.
3. This type of lava forms from underwater eruptions, looks like
rounded lumps.
4. This type of lava has a smooth surface and rounded edges.
5. This type of lava forms sharp edged chunks.
6. List the four types of pyroclastic material.
7. These are large blobs of magma that have cooled and hardened
as they flew through the air.
8. These are tiny pieces of magma that have hardened in the air.
9. These are solid rock fragments and usually consist of pieces of
the old volcano.
10. This is formed from when gases in stiff magma expand and
explode into slivers.
 Answers
1. A’a, pahoehoe, pillow, blocky
2. A’a
3. Pillow
4. Pahoehoe
5. Blocky
6. Blocks, bombs, lapilli, ash
7. Bombs
8. Lapilli
9. Blocks
10. Ash