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Lava
Lava tunnel on Isabela Island. As lava flows, it can form lava tunnels up to several kilometers long. The surface of the lava cools rapidly and forms a crust that protects the lava that continues to flow beneath. If the lava under the hardened crust eventually drains out, it can leave a hollow tunnel behind.
vesicles
Elongate vesicles in basalt from the Bonito Lava Flow, west of Sunset Crater, AZ. Gas bubbles trapped in the lava originated these cavities, with the stretching related to a preferential direction of flow. This example of volcanic activity is about 1,000 years old, and is part of a larger Volcanic Field (San Francisco Volcanic Zone, AZ, USA).
Oldoinyo Lengai
Earth’s strangest volcano. Oldoinyo Lengai is part of a series of volcanoes located along the East African Rift System in Tanzania, and is considered to be the one of the most unusual volcanoes on Earth. The name means "Mountain of God” in the local Maasai language. Oldoinyo Lengai uniquely erupts sodium, potassium, and calcium carbonate lava, forming very alkaline rocks called natrocarbonatites. The lava is much cooler than the silicic lava of other volcanoes, at around 600°C, and has a unique black…