[Rockhounds] The Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano's Lava Flows Are So Cold It's Possible To Fall In And Survive

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

If there's one thing you, and Gollum, should know about volcanoes, it's
that "lava=hot". That, and it's not a great idea to attempt to plug them up
with concrete
<https://www.iflscience.com/yes-you-can-plug-a-volcano-with-concrete-if-you-want-to-make-things-far-far-worse-67718>
.

But some volcanos are hotter than others. At Ol Doinyo Lengai in northern
Tanzania for instance, the lava
<https://www.iflscience.com/what-does-lava-taste-like-65926> flows at
temperatures so low it is possible (though by no means pleasant) to survive.

The most common type of lava flow is basaltic, making up around 90 percent
<https://www.nps.gov/subjects/volcanoes/lava-flows.htm#:~:text=Basaltic%20lava%20flows%20are%20by,USGS%20photo.>
of
all lava flows on the planet. In these flows, the lava erupts at
temperatures of around 1,100 to 1,250°C (2,012 to 2,282°F). At Ol Doinyo
Lengai, the lava erupts at a much cooler 510°C (950°F).

This difference in temperature is due to its unusual composition, being the
only volcano in the world to erupt carbonatite lava in recorded history.

"Carbonatite magma at Ol Doinyo Lengai has less than 3 percent silica and
is more akin to something you'd expect to find on a different planet," the
US Geological Survey (USGS) explains
<https://www.usgs.gov/news/volcano-watch-worlds-coolest-lava-africa#:~:text=The%20record%20that%20Ol%20Doinyo,Helens%2D52%25%20vs.>
on
its website. "What makes this lava so different from the stuff we're used
to? The chemical composition of carbonatite magma includes very little
silica (silicon dioxide), the most abundant chemical constituent of the
earth's crust."

"Carbonatites are a relatively rare type of igneous rock composed of
greater than 50 vol percent primary carbonate minerals, primarily calcite
and/or dolomite, and contain the highest concentrations of [rare Earth
elements] of any igneous rocks," the USGS adds
<https://www.usgs.gov/publications/rare-earth-element-ore-geology-carbonatites>
.

https://www.iflscience.com/the-ol-doinyo-lengai-volcanos-lava-flows-are-so-cold-its-possible-to-fall-in-and-survive-77314