Most volcanoes bring a deep inner sleeping accommodation of molten rocks , but this sleeping accommodation is typically capped close yesteryear cooled , corporation rock. But sometimes the magma sleeping accommodation is exposed at the operate yesteryear of the volcano inwards a giant caldera of rolling , bubbling together with spluttering lava. This happens when an active volcano continuously pushes novel molten rocks upwards the vent to class a puddle within the caldera , piece solidified lava sinks dorsum into the depth to live on re-melted. Volcanologists oft force lava lakes equally “windows into the heart of volcanoes.”
“Persistant lava lakes are really rare , together with ask a fragile equilibrium betwixt estrus provide together with estrus loss ,” says Olivier Grunewald/Boston.com
There are alone a handful of persistent lava lakes inwards the world. The most famous lava lake is the i on Mount Nyiragongo , inwards the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake is nearly 1.2 km across , the largest inwards beingness , together with is nearly 600 meters deep.
It is non known when the lava lake formed , but the volcano has been erupting since 1882. The volcano is infamous for its extremely fluid lava that may race downhill at upwards to 100 km/hr when the lava lake drains. On 10 Jan 1977 , the crater walls fractured , together with the lava lake drained inwards less than an lx minutes overwhelming villages together with killing at to the lowest degree lxx people. Another major eruption occurred inwards 2002. Fortunately , warnings had been given together with 400 ,000 people were evacuated. Still 147 people died from asphyxiation together with buildings collapsing.
Olivier Grunewald/Boston.com
Olivier Grunewald/Boston.com
Olivier Grunewald/Boston.com
Africa’s other lava lake is on Erta Ale , an active basaltic shield volcano inwards the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. Erta Ale is alone 613 meters high , but the elongated caldera is 1.7 km long. Within this caldera are numerous lava flows together with several larger together with smaller pit craters. One of these craters , sometimes ii , contains lava lakes. The lava lake is known to be since the 1960s
The lava lake of Erta Ale. Photo credit: Indrik myneur/Flickr
The lava lake of Erta Ale. Photo credit: filippo_jean/Flickr
The lava lake of Erta Ale. Photo credit: Raul Soler/Flickr
The lava lake of Erta Ale. Photo credit: V/Flickr
The lava lake of Erta Ale. Photo credit: filippo_jean/Wikimedia
The Ambrym volcano , inwards the archipelago of Vanuatu , only about 1 ,750 kilometers due east of northern Commonwealth of Australia , contains lava lakes inwards ii craters close the summit. The caldera is 12 km broad together with is believed to bring formed nearly 1 ,900 years ago. There are ii vents inwards the caldera that bring operate large complex craters called Marum together with Benbow. Both contains pocket-size lava lakes , which occasionally erupt lava flows onto the caldera floor.
The lava lake on Marum crater. Photo credit: Geophile71/Wikimedia
The lava lake of Ambrym volcano. Photo credit: Gus MacLeod/Flickr
Mount Erebus is located on Ross Island , together with is the 2nd highest volcano inwards Antarctica together with the southernmost active volcano on earth. The caldera on the summit of Mount Erebus is elliptical having diameters of 500 meters together with 600 meters. It contains an active lava lake within a 2nd caldera that is 250 meters broad together with 100 meters deep. The lava lake is connected to a long-lived , opened upwards together with stable magma plumbing arrangement , which powerfulness bring been inwards house for the yesteryear 17 ,000 years. The lava lake itself has existed since 1972.
The lava lake of Mount Erebus. Photo credit: Carsten Peter
Kilauea is the youngest together with most active of Hawaiian shield volcano , located on the southern business office of the Island of Hawai'i , known equally Big Island. Kilauea has ii persistent lava lakes: i inwards the Halemaʻumaʻu vent cavity within the summit caldera , together with only about other within the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone located on the due east rift zone of the volcano.
The lava lake inwards Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater. Photo credit: J.D. Griggs/Wikimedia
The Kilauea lava lake. Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey/Flickr