Volcanic bomb

A volcanic bomb or lava bomb is a mass of partially molten rock (tephra) larger than 64 mm (2.5 inches) in diameter, formed when a volcano ejects viscous fragments of lava during an eruption.

Because volcanic bombs cool after they leave the volcano, they are extrusive igneous rocks.

Volcanic bombs can be thrown many kilometres from an erupting vent, and often acquire aerodynamic shapes during their flight.

On July 16, 2018, 23 people were injured on a tour boat near the Kilauea volcano as a result of a basketball-sized lava bomb from the 2018 lower Puna eruption.

Bombs are named according to their shape, which is determined by the fluidity of the magma from which they are formed.

Lava bomb, ejected from the Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii in 1983
"Fusiform" type volcanic bomb. Capelinhos Volcano, Faial Island , Azores
"Almond" type volcanic bomb found in the Cinder Cones region of the Mojave National Preserve
"Bread-crust" type volcanic bomb at Vulcania , Puy-de-Dôme , France
Lava bomb at Strohn , Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany, with a diameter of 5 metres and a mass of 120 tonnes. It was caused by a volcanic eruption in 8300 BC. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Various volcanic bombs in the National Museum of Nature and Science , Tokyo , Japan