Hobbies And Interests
Pahoehoe Lava
Pahoehoe lava is a typical lava type for shield volcanoes and it forms smooth, rolling or ropey surfaces when it cools. The texture of pahoehoe lava depends on the barriers the lava flow encounters and the different textures are created when the lava flows over and around rocks, hills, cracks and bumps. Ropey pahoehoe looks like a fingerprint or series of twisted ropes spaced evenly on the ground.
A'a Lava
A'a lava is the most common lava type and it forms fragmented, rough and sometimes spiny, jagged and sharp surfaces when it cools. A'a lava flow involves small, lightweight rocks that pile up on each other in front of the lava flow.
Pillow Lava
Pillow lava forms underwater when the lava is pushed by the pressure of the ocean, causing it to form pillow-like formations when it rapidly cools due to the ocean water.
Pele's Hair
Pele's hair is formed when molten lava is ejected into the air, then pulled by a strong wind to create hair-sized pieces of rock. Molten lava is usually ejected into the air from a lava fountain or when the lava enters the ocean and explodes. When the lava droplets are in the air, strong wind pulls them into a thin hairlike rocks that are very sharp. Pele's hair fibers can be 2 to 6 inches long.
Pele's Tear
The difference between Pele's hair and Pele's tear is the strength of the wind. They are both formed when molten lava is ejected into the air, but when the wind is not strong enough to give the lava its hairlike formation, it creates round, oval and tear-shaped lava bits about one-quarter to one-half of an inch in size.