How long does it take lava to cool?

Question

How long does it take lava to cool?

Answer 1

A thin pahoehoe flow is cool enough to support a person's weight in only 10 minutes or so, but it is still hot and still molten inside. For it to completely cool, a flow that is about a meter thick will probably require more than 2 days. This is because lava is such a good insulator.

Answer 2

It depends on heat flow - which depends on the geometry of the system.

Basically the heat stored is proportional to the volume of lava, whereas the cooling time depends on heat flows through it's surface, so depends on the surface areas (as well as what the surface is in contact with and the temperature of the surroundings.

Consequently a large (voluminous) lava blob cools much more slowly that a small one. You've already had Pahoehoe mention, which is thin geometrically so cools fairly quickly. Things like Pele's Hair cool more or less instantly because they are so small.

Answer 3

It will take two to three days according the temperaure of surrounding .

Answer 4

couple hours to few days... depends

Answer 5

When it turns red its cooling down, when it is yellow it is at its hottest point. =)