Types Of Lava

Lava is underground in its molten state it is called magma. Thus, there are also types of it. Come on and let us learn all about the types of lava.

Pahoehoe Lava

The first type of lava is what you called Pahoehoe lava. Pahoehoe Lava is one of the most interesting forms of lava. Since it tends to flow more as a thick liquid it can pour uphill as well as downhill and can create a huge variety of interesting shapes.

Many visitors express interest in what could create such an unusual shape, but once you see ropey pohoehoe lava being created it is instantly clear how the shapes occur. As the pahoehoe flows, it usually encounters some minor barrier that slows up the front of the flow. As the front of the flow is slowing down, the faster flow behind it pushes the front and forces it to create a small ridge, which it pushes up and over the barrier. That ridge begins to cool and creates the next barrier, which in turn creates the next. The result is a series of ridges interspaced with valleys - which looks like 4 inch thick ropes of lava laying side by side or looping side by side. To walk over ropey pahoehoe it is best to walk on the top of the ridges, perpendicular to the ridges.

A'a Lava

The next one is is called A'a lava. A'a lava looks completely different than pahoehoe lava as it is formed. Whereas pahoehoe lava flows smoothly like water or molasses, a'a lava tumbles in the form of small rocks with very jagged sharp edges. The rocks are very lightweight, as opposed to pahoehoe that is extremely dense, and a'a rocks tend to pile up on each other with a lava front that might be a few feet to 40 or 50 feet high of tumbling red hot sharp rocks.

We have an internal disagreement about a'a lava. I say that it is one of the worst lavas in the world - almost impossible to walk over and if you ever wanted to get revenge on an enemy you would strip them naked and leave them stranded in the middle of an a'a flow - they would certainly not get out alive. Others in our team say that really, a'a is not that hard to walk on and really

wouldn't be that big of a deal to get out of.

If pahoehoe is the most interesting lava, A'a is the worst.

Pele's Hair Lava

The third one is known called Pele's hair. You know why it is called pele's hair? It is just only because of the belief of hawaiian people that these was their Hawaiian Goddess of volcanoes.

This is a wonderful form of lava, and most unexpected. It is also one of the few lava forms that you can create yourself (though nature produces some of the best examples).

Pele's hair looks like long strands of greenish-gold hair. In bright sunlight it is a shimmering gold color, perfectly straight and as thin as human hair. The lengths can be anywhere from particle sized to several feet long, though most Pele's hair that you will encounter (unless it is brand spanking new) will be in the 2 to 6 inch length.

Pele's hair is created when molten lava is ejected into the air - as happens when lava fountains or enters the ocean and explodes. If the airborne molten lava is small enough, and the wind is strong enough, the wind will pull the lava droplet and turn it into a hair-sized piece of rock. It is as if the wind extruded "rock wire" from the liquid mass, much as wire is created in a factory.

Pele's Tears

This one is what we called Pele's tears. If there's Pele's Hair, there is also Pele's Tears. Pele's tears are another form of lava related loosely to Pele's hair. Just as with Pele's hair, Pele's tears start out being small molten bits of lava sent hurtling into the air due to an explosion or, more often, lava fountain. However, the difference is that the wind is not strong enough to extrude the lava into strands - but instead, the bits tumble back to earth and form round, oval and more importantly, tear shaped bits about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size. By the time the tears hit the earth they have fully cooled and retain their oval or tear shape.There are many places within the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park where there are literally acres of Pele's tears. Quite a bit is right along the roadway and it is fun to park and go look for Pele's tears. Because the tears are the result of fountaining fissures, anywhere there was a fissure that fountained you can find the tears downwind. Good places to look include the area on both sides of the road between Devastation Trail and Kilauea Crater on Crater Rim Drive, as well as the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile on either side of the road on Chain of Craters Drive.

Lava Bombs

This is called lava bombs. Lava bombs can be thought of as Pele's tears taken to an extremely level. Formed the same way; lava bombs are HUGE blobs of molten lava ejected high into the air. As these blobs fall to earth they rotate and gravity converts them into round and oval rocks that hit the earth already cooled. These are huge rocks, ranging from several feet in diameter to the size of cars, and while you might be able to escape a fountain of Pele's tears, you would never escape a fountain of raining lava bombs.Lava bombs can be found all over the Big Island. There are many fine examples within the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park but some of the best examples can be found on the road up to the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory off Saddle Road, as well as the upper road around Mauna Kea (4-wheel only). On Mauna Kea there are huge fields (hundreds of acres) where there are perfect lava bombs every 3 to 5 feet - spaced as if planted - an amazing site to behold.

Green Sand

This is the last type of lava. This is what you call Green Sand. Where else can you go and find Green Sand Beaches - other than Hawai'i (probably a few places, but not many). Actually, Hawai'i has many different colors of sand. Black, gray, brown and green sand beaches are from lava of various compositions, whereas pink and white sand beaches are from coral.Green sand comes from the semi-precious gemstone peridot, a form of olivine. Occasionally a flow will be very rich in olivine crystals and the rocks produced by this flow will have a distinctive greenish hue. Close examination of the rocks will show small crystals, some as large as 1/4 inch in size, of bright olive green.Olivine is very susceptible to breaking down in water, so large crystals (gem-sized) are rare, but occasionally someone finds a wonderful multi-carat sized gem. Usually the crystals are tiny and form a green sand of pure crystals. There are many places on the Big Island where you can find green sand. Even up in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park you can find green sand on the hike to Pu'u Huluhulu, as well as on the Hike to 'Ainahou Ranch. However, the best examples of Green Sand can be found down at South Point. As you get to the boat launch ramp at South Point you will see, amidst the bright red dirt, quite a bit of greenish colored sand. If you actually take the hike out to the Green Sands Beach, you will encounter a large lava cone at the ocean edge that is entirely made up of olivine crystals. This is the remains of a large cone that had a very high concentration of olivine. Much of this has eroded into the ocean where the currents have brought it back up to form this unusual and perfect green sand beach.