Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Lava domes, like shield volcanoes, are formed by the slow
eruption of very sticky, or viscous, lava that extrudes within a
volcanic landscape. Within the crater of an existing volcano they
can appear like a bubble. After the eruption of Mount St Helens
in 1980, lava domes emerged within its crater, revealing ongoing
volcanic activity deep within the mountain. Like a lava dome, a
'hornito' is a bubble of upswelling lava that has emerged from a
larger flow to create a modest-sized hillock of ash or volcanic
rock. Named after the small Spanish oven that their shape
resembles, hornitos are common in, for example, Lanzarote in
the Canary islands. It was there that the Scottish artist Wilhel-
mina Barns-Graham (1912-2004) discovered hornitos as subjects
in the early 1990s, and gave expression to their irregular regular-
ities and gloominess within an exuberant sub-tropical landscape.²
Greatly absorbed by the slow-flowing contours of hardened jet-
black lava, Barns-Graham made drawings and paintings in
which her naturally fluid line moves in mild curling parallel
Wilhelmina Barns-
Graham,
La Geria,
Lanzarote No. 3
, 1989,
acrylic on paper.
Image not available - no digital rights
