Lava Flow Cooling - John Seach

The length of a lava flow is determined by the local terrain and pressure differences caused by flow thicknesses at the periphery. Separate lava flows tend to flow past each other rather than mixing. This means that lava flows cool by conduction.

Lava cool times
few cm thick - minutes
few metres thick - weeks.
10-30 m  6 months to 4 years

Note: lava flows cool quicker on steep slopes and therefore stops quicker.
 

Lava Flow Cooling
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