Lava field

Hell's Half Acre Lava Field, Idaho, USA

A lava field, also called a lava plain or lava bed, is a large expanse of nearly flat-lying lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or even hundreds of miles across the underlying terrain. The extent of large lava fields is most readily grasped from the air or in satellite photos, where their typically dark, nearly black color contrasts sharply with the rest of the landscape.

Some of the most ancient geological remnants of basaltic plains lie in Canada's Precambrian Shield. Eruption of plateau lavas near the Coppermine River southwest of Coronation Gulf in the Arctic, built an extensive plateau about 1200 million years ago with an area of about 170,000 km² (66,000 sq mi) representing a volume of lavas of at least 500,000 km³ (120,000 cu mi).

Samples of lava field

• Boring Lava Field (United States)
• Harrat Rahat, which threaten the city of Medina in the 13th century (Saudi Arabia)
• Hell's Half Acre Lava Field ([[Idaho, [United States))

See also

• Volcanic plateau