A little piece of Etna (1342)
Macro Mondays theme: Rock
This is a piece of volcanic basalt rock picked up from Mount Etna when we climbed to the summit last year.
Etna basalt is blackish in colour and is formed by the slow solidification of the volcanic lava flows as they cool. These lumps are known as Scoria and are very light and full of holes or vesicles which are formed when gases that were dissolved in the magma come out of solution as it erupts, creating bubbles in the molten rock, some of which are frozen in place as the rock cools and solidifies. Most scoria is composed of glassy fragments due to the presence of melted silica and is very painful to walk on!
HMM...
A little piece of Etna (1342)
Macro Mondays theme: Rock
This is a piece of volcanic basalt rock picked up from Mount Etna when we climbed to the summit last year.
Etna basalt is blackish in colour and is formed by the slow solidification of the volcanic lava flows as they cool. These lumps are known as Scoria and are very light and full of holes or vesicles which are formed when gases that were dissolved in the magma come out of solution as it erupts, creating bubbles in the molten rock, some of which are frozen in place as the rock cools and solidifies. Most scoria is composed of glassy fragments due to the presence of melted silica and is very painful to walk on!
HMM...