Basalt
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Basalt ; US: buh-SALT is an aphanitic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moo
QAPF diagram with basalt/andesite field highlighted in yellow. Basalt is distinguished from andesite by SiO2 < 52%.
Vesicular basalt at Sunset Crater, Arizona. US quarter (24mm) for scale.
Columnar basalt flows in Yellowstone National Park, US
Lava
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Lava is magma that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or underwater, u
Fresh lava from Fagradalsfjall volcano eruption in Iceland, 2023
Toes of a pāhoehoe advance across a road in Kalapana on the east rift zone of Kīlauea Volcano in Hawaii, United States
Columnar jointing in Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland
Lava enters the Pacific at the Big Island of Hawaii.