Tectonic–climatic interaction have sculpted their local and regional environments. Aside from admiring their majestic beauty, one might wonder how these geologic wonders work and what role they play in changing the landscape and atmosphere. Principally, volcanoes are geologic features that exude magmatic material from below Earth's surface onto the surface. Upon reaching the surface, the term "magma" disappears and "lava" becomes the common nomenclature. This lava cools and forms igneous rock. By examining igneous rocks, it is possible to derive a chain of events that led from the original melt of the magma to the crystallization of the lava at Earth's surface.
Fort Rock for lost cattle. Fort Rock was created when basalt magma rose to the surface and encountered the wet muds of a lake bottom. Powered by a jet of steam, molten basalt was blown into the air, creating a fountain of hot lava particles and frothy ash. The pieces and blobs of hot lava and ash rained down around the vent and formed a saucer-shaped ring of lapilli tuff and volcanic ash sitting like an island in the lake waters. Steam explosions also loosened angular chunks of black and red lava rock comprising the valley floor. These blocky inclusions are incorporated