Lava low degree of polymerization and high temperature favors chemical diffusion, so it is common to see large, well-formed phenocrysts within mafic lavas. Basalt lavas tend to produce low-profile shield volcanoes or "flood basalt fields", because the fluidal lava flows for long distances from the vent. The thickness of a basalt lava, particularly on a low slope, may be much greater than the thickness of the moving lava flow at any one time, because basalt lavas may "inflate" by supply of lava beneath a solidified crust. Most basalt lavas are of "ʻAʻā" or "pāhoehoe" types, rather than block lavas. Underwater, they
Boring Lava Field of the town of Boring. Volcanologists L. Siebert, T. Simkin, and P. Kimberly (2011) of the Global Volcanism Program list its highest elevation as , at Larch Mountain, with most vents reaching an elevation of . Located in the Portland Basin, the field consists of monogenetic volcanic cones that appear as hills throughout the area, reaching heights of above their surroundings. The collection includes more than 80 small volcanic edifices and lava flows in the Portland–Vancouver metropolitan area, with the possibility of more volcanic deposits buried under sedimentary rock layers. The borders for the Boring Lava Field group are clear,