KINDS OF ROCKS

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 Sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are formed from particles of sand, shells, pebbles, and other fragments of material. Together, all these
particles are called sediment. Gradually, the sediment accumulates in layers and over a long period of time hardens into rock.
Generally, sedimentary rock is fairly soft and may break apart or crumble easily. You can often see sand, pebbles, or stones in the
rock, and it is usually the only type that contains fossils.

Examples of this rock type include conglomerate and limestone.

Metamorphic
Metamorphic rocks are formed under the surface of the earth from the metamorphosis (change) that occurs due to intense heat
and pressure (squeezing). The rocks that result from these processes often have ribbonlike layers and may have shiny crystals,
formed by minerals growing slowly over time, on their surface.

Examples of this rock type include gneiss and marble.

Igneous
Igneous rocks are formed when magma (molten rock deep within the earth) cools and hardens. Sometimes the magma cools
inside the earth, and other times it erupts onto the surface from volcanoes (in this case, it is called lava). When lava cools very
quickly, no crystals form and the rock looks shiny and glasslike. Sometimes gas bubbles are trapped in the rock during the cooling
process, leaving tiny holes and spaces in the rock.
 TYPES OF VOLANIC
ERUPTIONS
The most common type of volcanic eruption occurs when magma (the term for lava when it is
below the Earth's surface) is released from a volcanic vent. Eruptions can be effusive, where lava
flows like a thick, sticky liquid, or explosive, where fragmented lava explodes out of a vent. In
explosive eruptions, the fragmented rock may be accompanied by ash and gases; in effusive
eruptions, degassing is common but ash is usually not.

Volcanologists classify eruptions into several different types. Some are named for particular
volcanoes where the type of eruption is common; others concern the resulting shape of the
eruptive products or the place where the eruptions occur. Here are some of the most common
types of eruptions:

Hawaiian Eruption
In a Hawaiian eruption, fluid basaltic lava is thrown into the air in jets from a vent or line of
vents (a fissure) at the summit or on the flank of a volcano. The jets can last for hours or even
days, a phenomenon known as fire fountaining. The spatter created by bits of hot lava falling out
of the fountain can melt together and form lava flows, or build hills called spatter cones. Lava
flows may also come from vents at the same time as fountaining occurs, or during periods where
fountaining has paused. Because these flows are very fluid, they can travel miles from their
source before they cool and harden.

Hawaiian eruptions get their names from the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, which
is famous for producing spectacular fire fountains. Two excellent examples of these are the
1969-1974 Mauna Ulu eruption on the volcano's flank, and the 1959 eruption of the Kilauea Iki
Crater at the summit of Kilauea. In both of these eruptions, lava fountains reached heights of
well over a thousand feet.
 Strombolian Eruption

Strombolian eruption. Short bursts of glowing lava, created from the bursting of large gas bubbles at the summit
vent of a volcano typify a Strombolian eruption. This photo, taken from the summit of Stromboli, a volcano in the
Aeolian Islands, Italy, shows a classic example of this activity. Photo © iStockphoto / Andrew Hague.

What Determines Eruption Type

The crystal and gas content and temperature of a magma help determine a volcano's eruption
style.

-- Crystals in magma make it more viscous, so magma with a high crystal content is more
likely to explode than flow.

-- Gases create explosions if they cannot easily escape from viscous magma, but they can also
be released without explosions (or with only minor ones) from fluid magma.

-- High-temperature magmas usually erupt effusively, while low-temperature magmas cannot

flow easily and are more likely to erupt explosively.

Strombolian Eruption
Strombolian eruptions are distinct bursts of fluid lava (usually basalt or basaltic andesite) from
the mouth of a magma-filled summit conduit. The explosions usually occur every few minutes at
regular or irregular intervals. The explosions of lava, which can reach heights of hundreds of
meters, are caused by the bursting of large bubbles of gas, which travel upward in the magma-
filled conduit until they reach the open air.

This kind of eruption can create a variety of forms of eruptive products: spatter, or hardened
globs of glassy lava; scoria, which are hardened chunks of bubbly lava; lava bombs, or chunks
of lava a few cm to a few m in size; ash; and small lava flows (which form when hot spatter
melts together and flows downslope). Products of an explosive eruption are often collectively
called tephra.

Strombolian eruptions are often associated with small lava lakes, which can build up in the
conduits of volcanoes. They are one of the least violent of the explosive eruptions, although they
can still be very dangerous if bombs or lava flows reach inhabited areas. Strombolian eruptions
are named for the volcano that makes up the Italian island of Stromboli, which has several
erupting summit vents. These eruptions are particularly spectacular at night, when the lava glows
brightly.

Vulcanian Eruption

Vulcanian eruption. Relatively small but violent explosions of viscous lava create columns of ash and gas and
occasional pyroclastic flows, as seen at this eruption of the Santiaguito volcanic dome complex in Guatemala. Photo
by Jessica Ball, March 15, 2009.

Vulcanian Eruption
A Vulcanian eruption is a short, violent, relatively small explosion of viscous magma (usually
andesite, dacite, or rhyolite). This type of eruption results from the fragmentation and explosion
of a plug of lava in a volcanic conduit, or from the rupture of a lava dome (viscous lava that piles
up over a vent). Vulcanian eruptions create powerful explosions in which material can travel
faster than 350 meters per second (800 mph) and rise several kilometers into the air. They
produce tephra, ash clouds, and pyroclastic density currents (clouds of hot ash, gas and rock that
flow almost like fluids).

Vulcanian eruptions may be repetitive and go on for days, months, or years, or they may precede
even larger explosive eruptions. They are named for the Italian island of Vulcano, where a small
volcano that experienced this type of explosive eruption was thought to be the vent above the
forge of the Roman smith god Vulcan.
 Plinian Eruption

Plinain eruption. The largest and most violent of all explosive eruptions, Plinian eruptions send columns of
pulverized rock, ash, and gases that rise miles into the atmosphere in a matter of minutes. Mount St. Helens in
Washington State experienced a Plinian eruption following a major flank collapse in 1980. Photo by Austin Post,
USGS, May 18, 1980. Enlarge Image

Plinian Eruption
The largest and most violent of all the types of volcanic eruptions are Plinian eruptions. They are
caused by the fragmentation of gassy magma, and are usually associated with very viscous
magmas (dacite and rhyolite). They release enormous amounts of energy and create eruption
columns of gas and ash that can rise up to 50 km (35 miles) high at speeds of hundreds of meters
per second. Ash from an eruption column can drift or be blown hundreds or thousands of miles
away from the volcano. The eruption columns are usually shaped like a mushroom (similar to a
nuclear explosion) or an Italian pine tree; Pliny the Younger, a Roman historian, made the
comparison while viewing the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and Plinian eruptions are
named for him.

Plinian eruptions are extremely destructive, and can even obliterate the entire top of a mountain,
as occurred at Mount St. Helens in 1980. They can produce falls of ash, scoria and lava bombs
miles from the volcano, and pyroclastic density currents that raze forests, strip soil from bedrock
and obliterate anything in their paths. These eruptions are often climactic, and a volcano with a
magma chamber emptied by a large Plinian eruption may subsequently enter a period of
inactivity.
 Lava Dome

Lava dome. Lava domes, such as this example in the crater of Mount St. Helens, are piles of viscous lava that are
too cool and sticky to flow far. Domes grow and collapse in cycles, and often form at volcanoes that also experience
Plinian eruptions. Photo by Lyn Topinka, USGS, August 12, 1985. Enlarge Image

Lava Domes
Lava domes form when very viscous, rubbly lava (usually andesite, dacite or rhyolite) is
squeezed out of a vent without exploding. The lava piles up into a dome, which may grow by
inflating from the inside or by squeezing out lobes of lava (something like toothpaste coming out
of a tube). These lava lobes can be short and blobby, long and thin, or even form spikes that rise
tens of meters into the air before they fall over. Lava domes may be rounded, pancake-shaped, or
irregular piles of rock, depending on the type of lava they form from.

Lava domes are not just passive piles of rock; they can sometimes collapse and form pyroclastic
density currents, extrude lava flows, or experience small and large explosive eruptions (which
may even destroy the domes!) A dome-building eruption may go on for months or years, but
they are usually repetitive (meaning that a volcano will build and destroy several domes before
the eruption ceases). Redoubt volcano in Alaska and Chaiten in Chile are currently active
examples of this type of eruption, and Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington spent several
years building several lava domes.
 Surtseyan Eruption

Surtseyan eruption. Lava erupting through water creates the dramatic plumes of scoria and billowing ash-and-gas
clouds of a Surtseyan eruption. The type example of this eruption occurred at Surtsey, a volcanic island off the coast
of Iceland. NOAA image of the 1963 eruption. Enlarge Image

Surtseyan Eruption
Surtseyan eruptions are a kind of hydromagmatic eruption, where magma or lava interacts
explosively with water. In most cases, Surtseyan eruptions occur when an undersea volcano has
finally grown large enough to break the water's surface; because water expands when it turns to
steam, water that comes into contact with hot lava explodes and creates plumes of ash, steam and
scoria. Lavas created by a Surtseyan eruption tend to be basalt, since most oceanic volcanoes are
basaltic.

The classic example of a Surtseyan eruption was the volcanic island of Surtsey, which erupted
off the south coast of Iceland between 1963 and 1965. Hydromagmatic activity built up several
square kilometers of tephra over the first several months of the eruption; eventually, seawater
could no longer reach the vent, and the eruption transitioned to Hawaiian and Strombolian styles.
More recently, in March 2009, several vents of the volcanic island of Hunga Ha'apai near Tonga
began to erupt. The onshore and offshore explosions created plumes of ash and steam that rose to
more than 8 km (5 miles) altitude, and threw plumes of tephra hundreds of meters from the
vents.

Volcanic Eruptions Resources