Lava Lake - Notable Examples

Notable Examples

Persistent lava lakes are a rare phenomenon. Only a few volcanoes have hosted persistent or near-persistent lava lakes during recent decades:

  • Erta Ale, Ethiopia,
  • Mount Erebus, Antarctica (Ross Island),
  • Kīlauea, Hawaii (Big Island),
  • Mount Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kilauea has the distinction of having two persistent lava lakes: one in the Halemaʻumaʻu vent cavity within the summit caldera, and another located within the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone located on the east rift zone of the volcano.

Nyiragongo lava lake has usually been the largest one (and the most voluminous) in recent history -the depth/size of lava lakes can vary considerably with time- reaching a size of 700 meters wide in 1982, although Masaya is believed to have hosted an even larger lava lake at the time of the Spanish conquest, being 1000 meters wide in 1670.

In addition to the aforementioned persistent lava lakes, a certain number of occurrences of temporary lava lakes (sometimes called lava ponds or lava pools, depending on their size and nature) have also been observed and are listed in the following table.

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