
Erosional structures at Göreme, central Cappadocia Region. The tuff is thought to have been deposited by the Mount Erciyes eruption ~2.6 ma, covering an area of about 20,000 km². This was the last of the series of great Cappadocian ignimbrites. (© Claude Valette, via Wikimedia)
In many descriptions of volcanoes and their eruption histories we stumble upon the terms Tuff, Tufa or Ignimbrite. Most every self-respecting volcano has one or all of them. Generally it becomes obvious from the context that they refer to widespread deposits of volcanic materials. But what exactly is an ignimbrite?, is it different to tuff?, and where do they all come from?
Tuff and ignimbrite are clastic rocks composed of volcanic Continue Reading