# A Cryovolcano? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cryovolcano/311173 "2005-07-05T18:48:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cryovolcano/311173/1 "2005-07-05T18:48:27Z")
Alright, so my bro ( **jackelope** ) and I were looking at some of the Casinni Huygens stuff and they started talking about the Cryovolcano that they might have found and I, being the scientific infant that I am, need someone to spoon feed an explanation to me. So how does a cryovolcano work exactly? Or how does it work in theory? I realize that it exists in a different atmosphere and that temperatures and such are much different, but I still can’t grasp what mechanic would drive a mountain to spit ice instead of lava… So Straight Dope, please hear my cry! ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cryovolcano/311173/2 "2005-07-05T21:17:13Z")
Wikipedia has a decent little artice on [Cryovulcanism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryovolcanism) For more information than you probably want, see [Cryovolcanism on icy satellites: Application to Titan.](http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/research/planetaryweb/undergraduate/dom/weathering_titan/chap7.htm) For an earthly example of near cryovolcanism (only 500 to 590°C, 930 to 1090°F) see [Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania](http://www.swisseduc.ch/stromboli/perm/lengai/index-en.html). There are some lovely night time pix of that volcano [here](http://www.swisseduc.ch/stromboli/perm/lengai/paroxnight-en.html).