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Lava dome identification and geology

A mound of viscous lava that piles up over and around a volcanic vent, formed when highly viscous felsic to intermediate lava dacite or rhyolite is extruded too slowly to flow far from the vent. Lava domes are potentially hazardous because they can collapse without warning, generating devastating pyroclastic flows block-and-ash flows . They are common features of composite volcanoes. Field: volcanology. Example: The lava dome growing within the crater of Mount St. Helens since the 2004–2008 eruption consists of dacite extruded at rates of several cubic meters per second, building a massive plug of rock over the vent.. Related terms: Pyroclastic flow, Dacite, Viscosity, Composite volcano.

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  • Dacite
  • Viscosity

Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:42.027557+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Lava dome mean in geology?
A mound of viscous lava that piles up over and around a volcanic vent, formed when highly viscous felsic to intermediate lava dacite or rhyolite is extruded too slowly to flow far from the vent. Lava domes are potentially hazardous because they can collapse without warning, generating devastating pyroclastic flows block-and-ash flows . They are common features of composite volcanoes.
What is an example of Lava dome?
The lava dome growing within the crater of Mount St. Helens since the 2004–2008 eruption consists of dacite extruded at rates of several cubic meters per second, building a massive plug of rock over the vent.
Which earth-science field uses the term Lava dome?
Lava dome is used in volcanology.
Which terms are related to Lava dome?
Related terms in this reference are Pyroclastic flow, Dacite, Viscosity, Composite volcano.

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