Lava flows are the least hazardous of all processes in volcanic eruptions. How far a lava flow travels depends on the flows temperature, silica content, extrusion rate, and slope of the land. A cold lava flow will not travel far and neither will one that has a high silica content. Such a flow would have a high viscosity (a high resistance to flow). A basalt flow like those in Hawai'i have low silica contents and low viscosities so they can flow long distances. Such a flow can move as far away as 4 km from its source and have a thickness of 10 m (Bryant, 1991). These flows can move at rates of several kilometers per hour (Scott, 1989). More silica-rich flows can move as far away as 1.3 km from their sources and have thicknesses of 100 m (Bryant, 1991). These flows can move at rates of a few to hundreds of meters per hour (Scott, 1989). If a lava flow is channelized or travels underground in a lava tube then the distance it travels is greatly extended.
