Lava - Unusual Lavas

Unusual Lavas

Some lavas of unusual composition have erupted onto the surface of the Earth. These include:

  • Carbonatite and natrocarbonatite lavas are known from Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania, which is the sole example of an active carbonatite volcano.
  • Copper sulfide bearing lavas have been recognised from Chile and Bolivia.
  • Iron oxide lavas are thought to be the source of the iron ore at Kiruna, Sweden, erupted in the Proterozoic, and in Chile associated with highly alkaline igneous rocks
  • Olivine nephelinite lavas are thought to have come from much deeper in the mantle of the Earth than other lavas.

The term "lava" can also be used to refer to molten "ice mixtures" in eruptions on the icy satellites of the Solar System's gas giants. See cryovolcanism.

Read more about this topic:  Lava

Famous quotes containing the word unusual:

    The probability of learning something unusual from a newspaper is far greater than that of experiencing it; in other words, it is in the realm of the abstract that the more important things happen in these times, and it is the unimportant that happens in real life.
    Robert Musil (1880–1942)