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Pāhoehoe, ‘a‘ā, and block lava: an illustrated history of the nomenclature

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Abstract

Lava flows occur worldwide, and throughout history, various cultures (and geologists) have described flows based on their surface textures. As a result, surface morphology-based nomenclature schemes have been proposed in most languages to aid in the classification and distinction of lava surface types. One of the first to be published was likely the nine-class, Italian-language description-based classification proposed by Mario Gemmellaro in 1858. By far, the most commonly used terms to describe lava surfaces today are not descriptive but, instead, are merely words, specifically the Hawaiian words ‘a‘ā (rough brecciated basalt lava) and pāhoehoe (smooth glassy basalt lava), plus block lava (thick brecciated lavas that are typically more silicic than basalt). ‘A‘ā and pāhoehoe were introduced into the Western geological vocabulary by American geologists working in Hawai‘i during the 1800s. They and other nineteenth century geologists proposed formal lava-type classification schemes for scientific use, and most of them used the Hawaiian words. In 1933, Ruy Finch added the third lava type, block lava, to the classification scheme, with the tripartite system being formalized in 1953 by Gordon Macdonald. More recently, particularly since the 1980s and based largely on studies of lava flow interiors, a number of sub-types and transitional forms of all three major lava types have been defined. This paper reviews the early history of the development of the pāhoehoe, ‘a‘ā, and block lava-naming system and presents a new descriptive classification so as to break out the three parental lava types into their many morphological sub-types.

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Acknowledgments

Mahalo to Puakea Nogelmeier for the advice on Hawaiian language history and for pointing us in the direction of Schütz (1994), ありがとう to Ken Koga and Tomoaki Morishita for the discussions regarding Japanese translation and pronunciation, grazie mille to Sonia Calvari for the checking of the Sicilian terminologies used by Gemmellaro (1858), and thanks stacks for the reviews and advice of Mike James, Steve Self, and James White. This is a Laboratory of Excellence ClerVolc contribution no. 220 and SOEST publication no. 9850.

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  1. Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Université Blaise Pascal, 6 Avenue Blaise Pascal, 63178, Aubière, France

    Andrew J. L. Harris

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 1680 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Scott K. Rowland

  3. Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, University of Paris Diderot, CNRS, 97418, La Plaine des Cafres, La Réunion, France

    Nicolas Villeneuve

  4. School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Askja/N-141, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Thor Thordarson

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Harris, A.J.L., Rowland, S.K., Villeneuve, N. et al. Pāhoehoe, ‘a‘ā, and block lava: an illustrated history of the nomenclature. Bull Volcanol 79, 7 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-016-1075-7

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