[[Image:Lava_flow.jpg|thumb|300px|Aerial view of a channelized `a`a flow on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai`i.]]'''Lava flows''' are masses of molten rock that pour onto the Earth's surface during an [[effusive eruption]]. Both moving lava and the resulting solidified deposit are referred to as lava flows. Because of the wide range in the viscosity of the different lava types ([[basalt]], [[andesite]], [[dacite]], and [[rhyolite]]), lava discharge during eruptions, and characteristics of the erupting vent and topography over which lava travels, lava flows come in a great variety of shapes and sizes.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/volcanocity/anat-nf.html</ref> | [[Image:Lava_flow.jpg|thumb|300px|Aerial view of a channelized `a`a flow on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai`i.]]'''Lava flows''' are masses of molten rock that pour onto the Earth's surface during an [[effusive eruption]]. Both moving lava and the resulting solidified deposit are referred to as lava flows. Because of the wide range in the viscosity of the different lava types ([[basalt]], [[andesite]], [[dacite]], and [[rhyolite]]), lava discharge during eruptions, and characteristics of the erupting vent and topography over which lava travels, lava flows come in a great variety of shapes and sizes.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/volcanocity/anat-nf.html</ref> |