Difference between revisions of "Tephra"
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| − | + | [[Image:Tephra.jpg|thumb|300px|Tephra erupted by Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 ranging in size from ash (left 2 piles) to [[lapilli]] (right 2 piles).]]'''Tephra''' is a general term for fragments of [[volcano|volcanic]] rock and [[lava]] that are blasted into the air by explosions or carried upward by hot gases in eruption columns or lava fountains. Tephra includes large dense blocks and bombs, and small light rock debris such as [[scoria]], [[pumice]], [[reticulite]], and [[volcanic ash]]. | |
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| + | As tephra falls to the ground with increasing distance from a volcano, the average size of the individual rock particles becomes smaller and thickness of the resulting deposit becomes thinner. Small tephra stays aloft in the eruption cloud for longer periods of time, which allows wind to blow tiny particles farther from an erupting volcano.<ref>http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/tephra.html</ref> | ||
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| + | ==References== | ||
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| + | <references/> | ||
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| + | [[Category:Geology]] | ||
Revision as of 23:12, December 30, 2007
Tephra erupted by Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 ranging in size from ash (left 2 piles) to lapilli (right 2 piles).
Tephra is a general term for fragments of volcanic rock and lava that are blasted into the air by explosions or carried upward by hot gases in eruption columns or lava fountains. Tephra includes large dense blocks and bombs, and small light rock debris such as scoria, pumice, reticulite, and volcanic ash.
As tephra falls to the ground with increasing distance from a volcano, the average size of the individual rock particles becomes smaller and thickness of the resulting deposit becomes thinner. Small tephra stays aloft in the eruption cloud for longer periods of time, which allows wind to blow tiny particles farther from an erupting volcano.[1]