What happens to the lava after the eruption?

Comute

Dear Comute,

Sorry for the delay in answering your question.

Lava on continents undergoes weathering after it is erupted. Physical and chemical changes convert the rock to soil over time. Lava in ocean basins are ultimately subducted beneath other plates and gradually, over hundreds of millions of years, assimilated back into the mantle.

Steve Mattox, University of North Dakota

Other Categories        Other Questions
To VolcanoWorld