Dr. Tom Knott at the Base of a Typical Thick Snake River-Type Ignimbrite >40 M-thick (IMAGE)

University of Leicester

Dr. Tom Knott at the Base of a Typical Thick Snake River-Type Ignimbrite >40 M-thick

Caption

The entire cliff would have been deposited very quickly from a fast-moving current of hot gas and ash (a pyroclastic density current), and the extreme temperatures (900-1,000°C) caused the ash to weld to the ground and effectively enameled the area in dense volcanic glass. Note how the ancient top soil has been baked to orange terracotta in response to the intense heat.

Credit

Photo taken by Marc Reichow, University of Leicester

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