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Tephra erupted by Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 ranging in size from ash (left 2 piles) to
lapilli (right 2 piles).
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]
References
- ↑ http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/tephra.html
