Why doesn't lava melt the sides of the volcano when it erupts.
Garrett Kelly
Hi Garrett,
I guess the quick answer is that lava isn't hot enough to melt the
volcano. The volcano is made of the same stuff that the lava is and it is
hard for the liquid of a substance to melt solid of the same stuff. It is
possible but it has to actually be at a temperature that is hotter than
the melting temperature.
About the only place this may take place is in lava tubes that are
active for a long time. There it is possible for the flowing lava to heat
up the surrounding rocks enough to start eroding down. Whether it is
actually melting its way down or eroding downward like a river erodes
a mountain without melting the mountain, is not clear.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii
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