Phreatomagmatic Eruption

A highly explosive volcanic eruption driven by the violent interaction of rising magma with external water, whether groundwater, a crater lake or seawater, which flashes to steam and shatters the magma into fine ash far more efficiently than magmatic gas alone would. The style produces base surges and low, wide ash clouds and is associated with some of the most locally destructive explosive events, since the water supply that fuels it can be far larger than the magma's own gas content would otherwise allow.