CLASS 6: VOLCANOES

INTRODUCTION

Volcanoes are places where lava (magma) erupts onto the surface of the earth. Today
we’ll focus on where volcanoes of different kinds are found and what their products (edifices,
lava flows, pyroclastics) are like. In the next class we’ll study the eruptions themselves.

KOMATIITE AND KIMBERLITE VOLCANOES

These rocks are the volcanic equivalents of peridotite, the main rock of the upper mantle.

Komatiites, made primarily of olivine, are almost entirely restricted to Archaean rocks of
the continental Pre-Cambrian shields (“cratons”). No komatiite eruptions have ever been seen.
The known komatiites occur as very thin but extensive flows interbedded with basalt flows.
These extremely hot lavas apparently erupted from long fissures. It’s not clear whether or not
they ever built volcanic cones.

Kimberlites are composed mainly of olivine and mica and are also found mainly in Pre-
Cambrian shield areas of the continents. They consist of cylindrical “pipes” or “necks” that
apparently were conduits through which gas-rich, magma-poor material blasted up to the surface.
I haven’t yet found out whether or not and kimberlite volcanic cones have ever been found. No
kimberlite eruption has ever been witnessed. Kimberlite pipes are important sources of
diamonds.

BASALT VOLCANOES

Basalt, the volcanic equivalent of gabbro, is composed of plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene

and olivine. Basalt lavas are very hot (over 1200 degrees C) and have very low viscosity. Thus
basalt flows may be both long (tens of km) and thin (a few m). Basalt volcanoes erupt relatively
quietly and produce lots of lava but little ash or other pyroclastic material. Basalt volcanoes are
found in almost all geologic settings.

At the axes of the mid-ocean ridges there are extensive basalt flows emanating from
fissures plus conical volcanic mountains over more restricted sources. A typical flow might
cover a few square kilometers.

Huge basalt shield volcanoes occur on the continents (Mount Etna) and as ocean islands
(Hawaii, Tahiti). Often they occur in “hot spot chains” with an obvious age progression. An
individual shield might be built over several million years and be as much as 9 km high from
base to peak. Each shield is a complex of long, thin narrow flows. Besides these obvious surface
flows, big shields have a network of dikes, sills and small plutons in their interiors. Shields are
built mainly of lava with relatively little pyroclastic materials.
 Found both on shields and as “swarms” or “fields” are cinder cones. These are piles of
pyroclastic material up to a few hundred meters high. They are built over periods of weeks to
years. Several cinder cones have been observed from birth to death (?). Examples include
Paricutin, part of a field of cones in central Mexico, plus others on the Canary Islands and on the
slopes of Mount Etna. Basalt flows may precede, accompany or follow the growth of the cones.

Dwarfing even big volcanoes like Hawaii are huge “flood basalts” or “plateau basalts”.
These are regions of very thick and extensive flows that apparently emanate from big fissures. A
single plateau can be hundreds of km in diameter and the total thickness may be hundreds of
meters. Some examples include the Columbia River basalts of Washington and Oregon, the
“Deccan Traps” of India, the Ethiopian plateau as well as several basalt plateaus in the deep sea
(Ontong-Java, Manihiki). What’s truly amazing about these plateaus is that they appear to have
been erupted in only a million years or so. Some of these massive eruptions seem to coincide in
time with mass extinctions of fauna and flora.

ANDESITE VOLCANOES

Andesite is the volcanic equivalent of diorite. The principal minerals are plagioclase,
hornblende and pyroxene. Andesite volcanoes are found in curved arcs located on the upper plate
of a subduction zone. Arcs may occur as islands (Lesser Antilles, Marianas, western Aleutians)
in the sea or on continents (Andes, eastern Aleutians). In the arcs the volcanoes have more or
less similar ages and occur at roughly even spacing.

Andesites form “composite cones” or “stratovolcanoes” rising up to 2 or 3 km above the

surrounding land. The lava is cooler (about 1000 degrees C) and more viscous than basalt lava.
Thus the andesite flows are thicker, slower moving and less extensive. Andesite volcanoes
produce lots of ash and coarser pyroclastic material. The result is tall steep cones built of roughly
equal amounts of thick flows and ash beds. Mount Saint Helens, Mount Fuji and Mount Pinatubo
are well known stratovolcanoes.

RHYOLITE VOLCANOES

Rhyolite is the volcanic equivalent of granite and is composed of quartz, potassium

feldspar (orthoclase), plagioclase feldspar and mica. The eruption temperatures are low, about
800 degrees C, and the viscosity is extremely high. Rhyolite volcanism is almost entirely
confined to the continents in association with mountain building, hot spots and continental
rifting. Two very different kinds of rhyolite volcanism are known.

On a small scale are small, steep lava domes only a few km high. These are formed when
sluggish lava slowly oozes to the surface. The exterior continuously cools and cracks as the
dome expands. The Mono Craters of eastern California are an example.

On a truly terrifying scale never recorded by man are giant eruptions of rhyolitic ash to
form “tuff sheets”. These vast amounts of pyroclastic material can bury whole states more or less
instantaneously. These eruptions don’t build mountains; instead they leave huge holes in the
ground (calderas). Examples include the Bishop Tuff from Long Valley, California, and the Lava
Creek Tuff from Yellowstone, Wyoming. These volcanic centers are still very much alive today.
In terms of potential damage a huge rhyolitic eruption is probably the greatest of all natural
hazards. Luckily they don’t happen very often.

WARNING

This survey of volcanoes, rock types and geological settings presents a very simplified
picture of reality. Thus we can find examples of most kinds of lava in most geological settings.
Rhyolite and andesite are found in small amounts on “basalt” ocean islands. There is lots of
basalt in “andesite” volcanic arcs. Continental rifts have both basalt and rhyolite volcanoes.

To confuse matters even more the very same volcanic vent may erupt basalt, andesite and
rhyolite at different times! As I said before the story I’ve told is just a broad outline, not the
whole story.