Many of the people thing Magma and Lava are the same. Lets find the major difference between them. A Volcano is an opening in the earth’s crust through which gases, molten rock materials, ash, steam, etc, are emitted outward in the course of eruption. Such vents or openings occur in those parts of earth’s crust where the rock strata are relatively weak. Volcanic activity is an example of endogenic process. Depending upon the explosive nature of the volcano different land forms can be formed such as plateau or a mountain.
Plateaus are formed if the Volcano is not eruptive and Mountains are formed if the volcano is eruptive. There are different types of volcanos such as Fissure Volcanos, Shield Volcanos, Composite Volcano & Caldera.
Magma:
Magma is a mix of molten rocks and other materials under the surface of the earth. It has a very huge amount of heat and takes a lot of time to cool down and forms into a huge crystals.
Lava:
When the magma comes out of the volcano through the vents and when it reaches the outer atmosphere of the volcano it is called as Lava. When compared to magma Lava cools down quickly and has less heat.
Difference between Magma and Lava:
| MAGMA | LAVA |
|---|---|
| Formed by | |
| Magma is formed by the molten rocks and related material seen inside earth. | Lava is nothing but Magma on Earth surface |
| Location | |
| Magma is stored in the Magma chambers below the earth's surface | Lava reaches the earth's surface through volcanic vents |
| Process | |
| The process of Magma formation is called Volcanism | When the Magma reaches the outer atmosphere it would be formed as Lava |
| Heat | |
| Magma is more hotter than Lava with a heat of 1300 - 2400 degree F | Lava is less hotter when compared to Magma with a heat of 1300- 2000 degree F |
| Cooldown | |
| Magma takes so long time to cool down | Lava cools faster than the Magma |
| Final stage | |
| Magma become crystalized state when it cools down in the end | Lava becomes Crystalized Glass formation when it cools down in the end |
Conclusion:
Magma and Lava are the same thing but the environment and its surroundings makes the difference. When the molten rocks and other substances under the layer of the earth in the Magma chamber comes out bursting through the volcanic vents and once it reaches the outside it would be called as Lava which cools down quickly and forms into crystalized material as Glass.
For further reading about Difference between Rocks and Minerals click here.
