pyroclastic flow
Hot volcanic surge
A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of hot gas, ash, and volcanic rock that rushes down the slopes of an erupting volcano.
These flows can reach temperatures above 700°C and speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, destroying everything in their path.
They are among the most deadly volcanic hazards: The pyroclastic flow from Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii in minutes.
Violent sudden release
- volcanoEarth's fiery vent
- lavaErupted liquid stone
- magmaMolten rock underground
- ashCombustion's powdery remains
pumice · tephra · caldera · crater · vent · fumarole · stratovolcano · lahar
Burn to nothing
- obliterateDestroy all traces of
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- charBurn without destroying
scorched earth · Pompeii · Herculaneum · buried · engulf · suffocate · asphyxiate · carbonize
Heated beyond phase change
- incandescentGlowing from heat
- searingBrowning with intense heat
- scorchingExtremely hot, burning
- thermalPertaining to warmth
glowing · molten · white-hot · combustion · ignite · smolder · radiant heat · fiery
eruption
Violent sudden release
ash · pumice · tephra · caldera · crater · vent · fumarole · stratovolcano · lahar · pyroclast
incinerate
Burn to nothing
- obliterateDestroy all traces of
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
char · scorched earth · Pompeii · Herculaneum · buried · engulf · suffocate · asphyxiate · carbonize · entomb
superheated
Heated beyond phase change
- incandescentGlowing from heat
- searingBrowning with intense heat
- scorchingExtremely hot, burning
thermal · glowing · molten · white-hot · combustion · ignite · smolder · radiant heat · fiery · burning
surge
Sudden powerful increase
torrent · descent · channeled · turbulent · billowing · roiling · ground-hugging · barreling · advancing · racing
- phenomenanorthern lights, eclipse, earthquake, solar eclipse, volcanic eruption
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- volcanic activityeruption, active, lava, dormant, magma
- volcanoesvolcano, volcanic eruption, Mount Fuji, volcanic eruptions, caldera
- natural disastersearthquake, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic eruption
- Earth processesplate tectonics, erosion, weathering, volcanism, sedimentation
pyroclastic flowglacier
Slow-moving ice mass
ice flow · jökulhlaup · permafrost · avalanche · ice sheet
flow, pyromania, pyromaniac, pyroclastic, pyrogenic, pyroclastic flows