| − | [[Image:Rift_zone.jpg|thumb|300px|Aerial view of the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai`i. Dark lava flows spread away from the rift zone.]]A '''rift zone''' is an elongated system of crustal fractures associated with an area that has undergone extension (ground has spread apart). On the great shield volcanoes in Hawai`i, a rift zone consists of many different features associated with the rise and eruption of [[magma]] from narrow [[dike]]s, including eruptive fissures, cinder and [[spatter cone]]s, spatter ramparts, [[pit crater]]s, [[lava flow]]s, ground cracks, and normal faults.<ref>http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/RiftZone.html</ref> | + | [[Image:Rift_zone.jpg|thumb|300px|Aerial view of the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai`i. Dark lava flows spread away from the rift zone.]]A '''rift zone''' is an elongated system of crustal fractures associated with an area that has undergone extension (ground has spread apart). On the great shield volcanoes in Hawai`i, a rift zone consists of many different features associated with the rise and eruption of [[magma]] from narrow [[dike]]s, including eruptive fissures, cinder and spatter cones, spatter ramparts, [[pit crater]]s, [[lava flow]]s, ground cracks, and normal faults.<ref>http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/RiftZone.html</ref> |