Is viscous rhyolitic lava more explosive than thin lava? ?
If you are comparing volcanoes emitting rhyolitic lava with those emitting basaltic lava, rhyolitic lava that arises from acidic or felsic volcanoes tends to be more viscous and very much more explosive than those coming from basic or mafic volcanoes. Ryolitic lava volcanoes tend to have a steeper gradient also and are often known as strato-volcanoes; they also have a much higher proportion of entrapped gas. Lava from these volcanoes is of a much lower temperature than those of basaltic volcanoes. “Strato volcanoes–making up the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth’s volcanoes, these are characterised by eruptions of cooler and more viscous lavas than basalt. The usual lavas that erupt from strato volcanoes are andesite, dacite, and occasionally rhyolite. These more viscous lavas allow gas pressures to build up to high levels (they are effective “plugs” in the plumbing), therefore these volcanoes often suffer explosive eruptions. They are usually about half-half lava and pyroclastic
