Effusive eruption Effusive eruption An effusive eruption is a type of volcanic eruption in which lava steadily flows out of a volcano onto the ground. There are two major groupings of eruptions: effusive and explosive. Effusive eruption differs from explosive eruption, wherein magma is violently fragmented and rapidly expelled from a volcano. Effusive eruptions are most common in basaltic magmas, but they also occur in intermediate and felsic magmas. These eruptions form lava flows and lava domes, each of which vary in shape, length, and width. Deep in the crust, gasses are dissolved into the magma because of high pressures, but upon
Joint (geology) a distinctive type of joints that join together at triple junctions either at or about 120° angles. These joints split a rock body into long, prisms or columns. Typically, such columns are hexagonal, although 3-, 4-, 5- and 7-sided columns are relatively common. The diameter of these prismatic columns range from a few centimeters to several metres. They are often oriented perpendicular to either the upper surface and base of lava flows and the contact of the tabular igneous bodies with the surrounding rock. This type of jointing is typical of thick lava flows and shallow dikes and sills. Columnar