What’s the difference between lava and magma?

Question: What's the difference between lava and magma?
- Keywords:
  lava,
  magma
Asked by teststudent on 24 Apr 2020.
- Katherine Benson answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma is molten hot rock in the earth’s crust. Lava is magma that reaches the surface of earth through a volcano.
- Marcello Valente answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  By definition magma is fused rock that still contein gases on the inside of its structure.
  Once the gases evaporates it becames lava.
- Jean O'Dwyer answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Lava is magma that reaches the Earth’s surface. Magma is molten rock that’s still trapped underground. Good question!
- Karen Bacon answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma is the molten rock that is under the Earth’s surface. Lave is that molten rock when it erupts and comes to the surface.
- Jun Lin answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma is the molten rock underground inside the earth’s crust. Lava is magma that reaches the surface of our earth.
- Dimitar Shterionov answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Both are molten rock. But the magma is stored in the Earth, while lava errupts through a volcano.
- Ollie Otter answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  The difference is in their location; they’re both molten rock but lava enjoys the fresh air at the surface after erupting from volcanoes, whereas magma is warm and cosy deep in the Earth’s crust.
- Lingli Zhou answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  That is a good question 🙂
  
  Deep down in the earth, let’s say, around 200 km underground where it reaches to mantle, the temperature is around 2000 ℃. Rocks start to melt and becomes magma.
  
  The earth’s inside is not always stable or peaceful. Along with tectonic movement such as earthquakes, the magma will be pushed up and erupted through a volcano channel, then magma becomes lava.
  
  Hope you find the answer helpful 🙂
  Cheers, Lingli
- Yashdeep Yashdeep answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma and Lava are both molten rocks. The only difference is where they are present. If it is inside the earth (10 kilometres inside) , it is called magma. If comes outside the surface of the earth, which happens when a volcano erupts, it is called lava.
  That’s why you must have heard the fames meme and prank, “The floor is lava” which means there are hot molten rocks out on the floor or the surface of the earth.
- Eddie Sheahan answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  I believe molten rock is called magma when it’s under the earth’s surface and is called lava when it is above the earth’s surface. But I’m no geologist!!
- Hannah Currivan answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Lava is above ground and magma is below ground!!!🌋
- Tommy Hayden answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Good question – full disclosure – I googled the answer
  “Magma is composed of molten rock and is stored in the Earth’s crust. Lava is magma that reaches the surface of our planet through a volcano vent”
  Looks as though Magma becomes lava during an eruption
- Aisling Ryan answered on 24 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma is stored underground (inside the earth) and lava is magma that has come overground (out of a volcano). Think of a jam donut. The jam inside the donut is magma and if you squeeze the donut the jam that comes pouring out is lava!
- Hazel Rooney answered on 26 Apr 2020:
  
  Great question! The earth is made up of many different layers so the magma is the molten rock that is deep down in the earths crust and the lava is the hot, bubbling magma that reaches the earths surface. When a volcano erupts, lava can pour out.
- Chloe Matthews answered on 27 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma is lots of molten/melted hot rocks that is found in the earths crust. Lava is the magma that comes up to the earths surface through a volcano
- Anna Zakrzewska answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Both are liquid rocks but we can only observe one. Magma lives deep under ground, and we have a chance to see lava during a volcano eruption. This is sometimes possible on Hawaii for example.
- Lucy Blennerhassett answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Magma and lava are both molten rock. However, magma stays within the Earth’s crust, whereas lava is the name we use when this magma reaches the Earth’s surface! The lava can reach the surface through different types of volcanic activity, such as through big tall volcanoes like Mt. Etna in Sicily or maybe through ‘cracks’ in the Earth like we see in some parts of Iceland!
  
  Don’t forget that both lava and magma form solid rocks when they cool down! Magma will usually form rocks with big chunky crystals because it takes longer to cool when its sitting under the surface. Lava will form rocks with smaller crystals (sometimes too small to see properly!), like we see at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland 🙂

Question: What's the difference between lava and magma?

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