Lava cave

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Classic lava tube passage in Lava Beds National Monument, California, US Classic lava tube passage.jpg
Classic lava tube passage in Lava Beds National Monument, California, US

A lava cave is any cave formed in volcanic rock, though it typically means caves formed by volcanic processes, which are more properly termed volcanic caves. Sea caves, and other sorts of erosional and crevice caves, may be formed in volcanic rocks, but through non-volcanic processes and usually long after the volcanic rock was emplaced.

Contents

Types

There are many types of lava caves, with these being the most notable:

  • Ice caves Some lava tubes are referred to as ice caves because they contain ice within. [3]
Small surface tubes Tunnel de lave.JPG
Small surface tubes
  • Liftup caves are related to pressure ridges and the inflationary process. Liftup caves can form on the edges of pressure ridges or pressure plateaus where the convex edge of a ridge or plateau begins to expand outward it commonly leaves a void below. Liftup caves are usually no more than 5–10 feet (1.5–3.0 m) though longer ones have been discovered up to 30 ft (9.1 m) long. [6]
A lava mold of a tree trunk Pietracannone.JPG
A lava mold of a tree trunk

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Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanic cone</span> Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belknap Crater</span> Shield volcano in the U.S. state of Oregon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fissure vent</span> Linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pressure ridge (lava)</span>

In volcanology, a pressure ridge or a tumulus, and rarely referred to as a schollendome, is sometimes created in an active lava flow. Formation occurs when the outer edges and surfaces of the lava flow begin to harden. If the advancing lava underneath becomes restricted it may push up on the hardened crust, tilting it outward. Inflation also takes place and is a process where the plastic layer of lava underneath expands as it cools and small crystals form. The end result is a raised mound of hardened lava rock, usually a relatively narrow but long ridge. Tension cracks form on the surface of pressure ridges and run along the axis of elongated ridges, and at both edges of broader ridges, sometimes referred to as pressure plateaus. Along the edges of a pressure ridge, if the tension crack is large enough it will create a liftup cave. Other caves can form inside pressure ridges in which conditions arose for the ridge to form and but the lava that created the internal pressure quickly drained leaving an inflationary cave.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface features of Venus</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crater</span>

A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described as: "a bowl-shaped pit that is formed by a volcano, an explosion, or a meteorite impact". On Earth, craters are "generally the result of volcanic eruptions", while "meteorite impact craters are common on the Moon, but are rare on Earth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fissure</span> Long, narrow crack opening on a planetary surface

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References

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  4. 1 2 Larson, Charlie & Jo (1987). "Other Types of Volcanic Caves". Central Oregon Caves. Vancouver, Washington: ABC Publishing. p. 44.[ ISBN missing ]
  5. Nieuwenhuis, L. (August 1991). "Floor Modifications in Small Lava Tubes" (PDF). Sixth International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology: 259–261. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  6. 1 2 Chitwood, Lawrence A. (January 1989). "Inflated Lava" (PDF). Desert Ramblings, The Newsletter of the Oregon Natural Desert Association. Vol. 2, no. 1. pp. 1–2, 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  7. 1 2 3 Skinner, Craig E. (August 1982), Open Vertical Volcanic Conduits: A Preliminary Investigation of an Unusual Volcanic Cave Form with Examples from Newberry Volcano and the Central High Cascades of Oregon, Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology (PDF), retrieved 2019-09-23
  8. Halliday, W.R. (November 1995). "A record year in Hawaii". NSS News.
  9. Chappell, W.M.; Durham, J.W. & Savage, D.E. (1951): Mold of a Rhinoceros in Basalt, Lower Grand Coulee, Washington. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 62(8): 907–918.
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