sand plain

MaryW commented on the word sand plain

The equivalent of several thousand megawatts of continuous power create a meltwater lake atop the volcano, beneath the overlying ice. When enough water accumulates in the lake,the pressure forces an opening in the ice cap and the water pours out, draining most of the lake in a matter of days. . . . the floods can be immensely powerful, leaving behind 'sand plains' that stretch for kilometre after kilometre all the way to the coast.

Alexandra Witze & Jeff Kanipe, Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World (New York: Island Books, 2015), ch. 2, p. 59, Kindle loc 662

February 18, 2019