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.
Lava to have reached at least . Lava fountains may occur as a series of short pulses, or a continuous jet of lava. They are commonly associated with Hawaiian eruptions. Rarely, a volcanic cone may fill with lava but not erupt. Lava which pools within the caldera is known as a lava lake. Lava lakes do not usually persist for long, either draining back into the magma chamber once pressure is relieved (usually by venting of gases through the caldera), or by draining via eruption of lava flows or pyroclastic explosion. There are only a few sites in the world where