• Question: Has there ever been crystals found in a volcano before?

    Asked by cakeey4 to James on 13 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: James Hickey

      James Hickey answered on 13 Nov 2013:

      Hi cakeey4, nice question. I’m starting to think you must quite like crystals.

      It is unlikely that someone could find crystals in a volcano that is active because you couldn’t get close enough to look for them. But in old and ancient volcanoes you can find lots of crystals in lava and magma that has cooled down to form new rocks. The biggest crystals are found in old magmas because they cool down slowly inside the earth giving more time for crystals to grow.

      You can see an example of crystals in a lava here: http://chemistry.about.com/od/geochemistry/ig/Green-Sand-Beach/Olivine-in-Lava.htm

Comments