PUMICE - the rock that floats (very fine example) - Askja, Iceland
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The rock that floats!
Askja, Iceland
Askja is an active volcano situated in the central highlands of Iceland. It is a complex of calderas that last erupted in 1961. This is a very fine example of pumice from this eruption.
Pumice is the lightest of all rocks and the only rock that floats on water. It has the same chemical composition as granite but whereas granite is a magma that has cooled slowly deep underground to form large crystals, pumice has been erupted at the surface as a lava and cooled rapidly.
Pumice is full of gas bubbles and could be described as a ‘lava froth’. It commonly forms when lava reacts with sea water and huge quantities of pumice are often seen floating on the sea surface near active volcanoes.
Click on a picture for a larger image.
Size: 8 x 8 x 7 centimetres
Weight: 75 grams
Weight: 75 grams
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