Successive lobes of the 1905 lava flow from Momotombo volcano in Nicaragua spread out on the flat slopes below the volcano, forming a broad terminus. This photo shows how lava flow direction is controlled by the topography, with individual lobes diverted around slightly higher areas of the pre-eruption surface, surrounding these prominent forested "islands" of older rock, known as kipukas.

Photo by Jaime Incer, 1982.

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Galleries: Lava Flows

Keywords: lava flow | eruption | lava | lava lobe

Momotombo