pahoehoe
pah-HOY-hoy
A type of lava flow with a smooth, undulating, ropy surface — the molten rock flowing like thick syrup and cooling into gentle folds, coils, and glassy sheets. Pahoehoe is beautiful in the way that destructive things sometimes are — its surface records the liquid motion of stone with a fidelity that is hard to believe once it has hardened.
Etymology
Hawaiian, meaning smooth or satin-like. The Hawaiian language, born on volcanic islands, has the most precise vocabulary for lava morphology in any language.
Notes
Pahoehoe can transition into aa as it cools and its viscosity increases — the smooth becomes the jagged.
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