Mount Kanlao :
A volcanic eruption at Mount Kanlaon in the Philippines led to rivers of cold lava, or lahar.
- Cold lava, or “lahar,” is a hazardous flow of volcanic material, debris, and water that descends rapidly from volcanoes, resembling a fast-moving landslide rather than molten lava.
- This dense mixture forms when water interacts with volcanic ash and debris on a volcano’s slopes, creating a river-like flow that can be more destructive than molten lava due to its speed and force.
- The term “cold lava” is misleading, as it remains hot internally but appears and behaves like wet concrete.
- Driven by gravity and the volume of displaced material, lahars can travel far from the volcano’s summit, picking up additional debris and increasing in volume and destructive power.
