The very traits that make pyroclastic flows so deadly are also what make them mysterious. “With just a bunch of rocks going down a hill, you wouldn’t think of them going that fast,” says ...

How deadly, fast-moving flows of volcanic rock and gas cheat friction Lab experiments show the mixtures travel so far and so fast by riding on air ...

Pyroclastic flows are a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. They are fast-moving fluidized bodies of hot gas, ash and rock (collectively known as tephra) which can travel ...

A volcano's pyroclastic flow is composed of destructive and deadly pieces of rock, ash and hot gas.

Results showed that the pyroclastic flows "generate their own air lubrication," the team wrote. It found that an area of high-pressure volcanic material forms toward the base of the flow.

This river, or pyroclastic flow, may not be glowing orange like molten earth, but it is undeniably the most deadly part of the volcano.

Just how fast – or slow – were pyroclastic flows from ancient supervolcanoes? A new study investigated the question, using the eruption of the Silver Creek caldera in the western United States ...

Understanding the nature of these flows -- how fast, how far, and how destructive -- is important for evaluating risk for anyone living near volcanoes. Additionally, the deposits of pyroclastic ...