The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

10 m (33 ft) high fountain of Pāhoehoe lava, Hawaii, United States

Lava flow during a rift eruption at Krafla, Iceland in 1984.

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C (1,292 to 2,192 °F). Up to 100,000 times as viscous as water, lava can flow great distances before cooling and solidifying because of its thixotropic and shear thinning properties.^[1][2]

A lava flow is a moving outpouring of lava, which is created during a non-explosive effusive eruption. When it has stopped moving, lava solidifies to form igneous rock. The term lava flow is commonly shortened to lava. Explosive eruptions produce a mixture of volcanic ash and other fragments called tephra, rather than lava flows. The word "lava" comes from Italian, and is probably derived from the Latin word labes which means a fall or slide.^[3][4] The first use in connection with extruded magma (molten rock below the Earth's surface) was apparently in a short account written by Francesco Serao on the eruption of Vesuvius between May 14 and June 4, 1737.^[5] Serao described "a flow of fiery lava" as an analogy to the flow of water and mud down the flanks of the volcano following heavy rain.

Lava composition and behavior[link]

Pāhoehoe and ʻAʻā lava flows side by side at the Big Island of Hawaii in September, 2007

In general, the composition of a lava determines its behavior more than the temperature of its eruption.

Composition[link]

Igneous rocks, which form lava flows when erupted, can be classified into three chemical types; felsic, intermediate, and mafic (four if one includes the super-heated ultramafic). These classes are primarily chemical; however, the chemistry of lava also tends to correlate with the magma temperature, its viscosity and its mode of eruption.

Felsic lava[link]

Felsic (or silicic) lavas such as rhyolite and dacite typically form lava spines, lava domes or "coulees" (which are thick, short lavas) and are associated with pyroclastic (fragmental) deposits. Most Silicic lava flows are extremely viscous, and typically fragment as they extrude, producing blocky autobreccias. The high viscosity and strength are the result of their chemistry, which is high in silica, aluminium, potassium, sodium, and calcium, forming a polymerized liquid rich in feldspar and quartz, which thus has a higher viscosity than other magma types. Felsic magmas can erupt at temperatures as low as 650 to 750 °C. Unusually hot (>950 °C) rhyolite lavas, however, may flow for distances of many tens of kilometres, such as in the Snake River Plain of the northwestern United States.

Intermediate lava[link]

Intermediate or andesitic lavas are lower in aluminium and silica, and usually somewhat richer in magnesium and iron. Intermediate lavas form andesite domes and block lavas, and may occur on steep composite volcanoes, such as in the Andes. Poorer in aluminium and silica than felsic lavas, and also commonly hotter (in the range of 750 to 950 °C), they tend to be less viscous. Greater temperatures tend to destroy polymerized bonds within the magma, promoting more fluid behaviour and also a greater tendency to form phenocrysts. Higher iron and magnesium tends to manifest as a darker groundmass, and also occasionally amphibole or pyroxene phenocrysts.

Mafic lava[link]

Mafic or basaltic lavas are typified by their high ferromagnesian content, and generally erupt at temperatures in excess of 950 °C. Basaltic magma is high in iron and magnesium, and has relatively lower aluminium and silica, which taken together reduces the degree of polymerization within the melt. Owing to the higher temperatures, viscosities can be relatively low, although still thousands of times more viscous than water. The low degree of polymerization and high temperature favors chemical diffusion, so it is common to see large, well-formed phenocrysts within mafic lavas. Basalt lavas tend to produce low-profile shield volcanoes or "flood basalt fields", because the fluidal lava flows for long distances from the vent. The thickness of a basalt lava, particularly on a low slope, may be much greater than the thickness of the moving lava flow at any one time, because basalt lavas may "inflate" by supply of lava beneath a solidified crust. Most basalt lavas are of ʻAʻā or pāhoehoe types, rather than block lavas. Underwater they can form "pillow lavas", which are rather similar to entrail-type pahoehoe lavas on land.

Ultramafic lava[link]

Ultramafic lavas such as komatiite and highly magnesian magmas which form boninite take the composition and temperatures of eruptions to the extreme. Komatiites contain over 18% magnesium oxide, and are thought to have erupted at temperatures of 1600 °C. At this temperature there is no polymerization of the mineral compounds, creating a highly mobile liquid with viscosity as low as that of water. Most if not all ultramafic lavas are no younger than the Proterozoic, with a few ultramafic magmas known from the Phanerozoic. No modern komatiite lavas are known, as the Earth's mantle has cooled too much to produce highly magnesian magmas.

Lava behavior[link]

Toes of a pāhoehoe advance across a road in Kalapana on the east rift zone of Kīlauea Volcano in Hawaii, United States.

The viscosity of lava is important because it determines how the lava will behave. Lavas with high viscosity are rhyolite, dacite, andesite and trachyte, with cooled basaltic lava also quite viscous; those with low viscosities are freshly erupted basalt, carbonatite and occasionally andesite.

Highly viscous lava shows the following behaviors:

• tends to flow slowly, clog, and form semi-solid blocks which resist flow
• tends to entrap gas, which form vesicles (bubbles) within the rock as they rise to the surface
• correlates^{[clarification needed]} with explosive or phreatic eruptions and is associated with tuff and pyroclastic flows^{[citation needed]}

Highly viscous lavas do not usually flow as liquid, and usually form explosive fragmental ash or tephra deposits. However, a degassed viscous lava or one which erupts somewhat hotter than usual may form a lava flow.

Lava with low viscosity shows the following behaviors:

• tends to flow easily, forming puddles, channels, and rivers of molten rock
• tends to easily release bubbling gases as they are formed
• eruptions are rarely pyroclastic and are usually quiescent
• volcanoes tend to form broad shields rather than steep cones

Lavas also may contain many other components, sometimes including solid crystals of various minerals, fragments of exotic rocks known as xenoliths and fragments of previously solidified lava.

Volcanic morphologies[link]

Lava entering the sea to expand the big island of Hawaii, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The physical behavior of lava creates the physical forms of a lava flow or volcano. More fluid basaltic lava flows tend to form flat sheet-like bodies, whereas viscous rhyolite lava flows forms knobbly, blocky masses of rock.

General features of volcanology can be used to classify volcanic edifices and provide information on the eruptions which formed the lava flow, even if the sequence of lavas have been buried or metamorphosed.

Lava enters the Pacific at the Big Island of Hawaii

The ideal lava flow will have a brecciated top, either as pillow lava development, autobreccia and rubble typical of ʻaʻā and viscous flows, or a vesicular or frothy carapace such as scoria or pumice. The top of the lava will tend to be glassy, having been flash frozen in contact with the air or water.

The centre of a lava flow is commonly massive and crystalline, flow banded or layered, with microscopic groundmass crystals. The more viscous lava forms tend to show sheeted flow features, and blocks or breccia entrained within the sticky lava. The crystal size at the centre of a lava will in general be greater than at the margins, as the crystals have more time to grow.

The base of a lava flow may show evidence of hydrothermal activity if the lava flowed across moist or wet substrates. The lower part of the lava may have vesicles, perhaps filled with minerals (amygdules). The substrate upon which the lava has flowed may show signs of scouring, it may be broken or disturbed by the boiling of trapped water, and in the case of soil profiles, may be baked into a brick-red terracotta.

Discriminating between an intrusive sill and a lava flow in ancient rock sequences can be difficult. However, some sills do not usually have brecciated margins, and may show a weak metamorphic aureole on both the upper and lower surface, whereas a lava will only bake the substrate beneath it. However, it is often difficult in practise to identify these metamorphic phenomenon because they are usually weak and restricted in size. Peperitic sills intruded into wet sedimentary rocks, commonly do not bake upper margins and have upper and lower autobreccias, closely similar to lavas.

ʻAʻā[link]

ʻAʻā (also spelled aa, aʻa, ʻaʻa, and a-aa;  /ˈɑː.ɑː/ or /ˈɑːʔɑː/, from Hawaiian [ʔəˈʔaː]^[6] meaning "stony rough lava", but also to "burn" or "blaze") is one of three basic types of flow lava. ʻAʻā is basaltic lava characterized by a rough or rubbly surface composed of broken lava blocks called clinker. The Hawaiian word was introduced as a technical term in geology by Clarence Dutton.^[7]

Glowing ʻaʻā flow front advancing over pāhoehoe on the coastal plain of Kīlauea in Hawaiʻi, United States.

The loose, broken, and sharp, spiny surface of an ʻaʻā flow makes hiking difficult and slow. The clinkery surface actually covers a massive dense core, which is the most active part of the flow. As pasty lava in the core travels downslope, the clinkers are carried along at the surface. At the leading edge of an ʻaʻā flow, however, these cooled fragments tumble down the steep front and are buried by the advancing flow. This produces a layer of lava fragments both at the bottom and top of an ʻaʻā flow.

Accretionary lava balls as large as 3 metres (10 feet) are common on ʻaʻā flows. ʻAʻā is usually of higher viscosity than pāhoehoe. Pāhoehoe can turn into ʻaʻā if it becomes turbulent from meeting impediments or steep slopes.

The sharp, angled texture makes ʻaʻā a strong radar reflector, and can easily be seen from an orbiting satellite (bright on Magellan pictures).

ʻAʻā lavas typically erupt at temperatures of 1000 to 1100 °C.

Pāhoehoe[link]

Pāhoehoe lava from Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii, United States

Pāhoehoe (/pəˈhoʊ.iːˈhoʊ.iː/; from Hawaiian [paːˈhoweˈhowe],^[8] meaning "smooth, unbroken lava"), also spelled pahoehoe, is basaltic lava that has a smooth, billowy, undulating, or ropy surface. These surface features are due to the movement of very fluid lava under a congealing surface crust. The Hawaiian word was introduced as a technical term in geology by Clarence Dutton.^[7]

A pāhoehoe flow typically advances as a series of small lobes and toes that continually break out from a cooled crust. It also forms lava tubes where the minimal heat loss maintains low viscosity. The surface texture of pāhoehoe flows varies widely, displaying all kinds of bizarre shapes often referred to as lava sculpture. With increasing distance from the source, pāhoehoe flows may change into ʻaʻā flows in response to heat loss and consequent increase in viscosity. Pahoehoe lavas typically have a temperature of 1100 to 1200 °C.

The rounded texture makes pāhoehoe a poor radar reflector, and is difficult to see from an orbiting satellite (dark on Magellan picture).

Pillow lava[link]

Pillow lava (NOAA)

Pillow lava is the lava structure typically formed when lava emerges from an underwater volcanic vent or subglacial volcano or a lava flow enters the ocean. However, pillow lava can also form when lava is erupted beneath thick glacial ice. The viscous lava gains a solid crust on contact with the water, and this crust cracks and oozes additional large blobs or "pillows" as more lava emerges from the advancing flow. Since water covers the majority of Earth's surface and most volcanoes are situated near or under bodies of water, pillow lava is very common.

Lava landforms[link]

Because it is formed from viscous molten rock, lava flows and eruptions create distinctive formations, landforms and topographical features from the macroscopic to the microscopic.

Volcanoes[link]

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica, is a stratovolcano.

Volcanoes are the primary landforms built by repeated eruptions of lava and ash over time. They range in shape from shield volcanoes with broad, shallow slopes formed from predominantly effusive eruptions of relatively fluid basaltic lava flows, to steeply-sided stratovolcanoes (also known as composite volcanoes) made of alternating layers of ash and more viscous lava flows typical of intermediate and felsic lavas.

A caldera, which is a large subsidence crater, can form in a stratovolcano, if the magma chamber is partially or wholly emptied by large explosive eruptions; the summit cone no longer supports itself and thus collapses in on itself afterwards. Such features may include volcanic crater lakes and lava domes after the event. However, calderas can also form by non-explosive means such as gradual magma subsidence. This is typical of many shield volcanoes.

Cinder and spatter cones[link]

Cinder cones and spatter cones are small-scale features formed by lava accumulation around a small vent on a volcanic edifice. Cinder cones are formed from tephra or ash and tuff which is thrown from an explosive vent. Spatter cones are formed by accumulation of molten volcanic slag and cinders ejected in a more liquid form.

Kīpukas[link]

Another Hawaiian English term derived from the Hawaiian language, a kīpuka denotes an elevated area such as a hill, ridge or old lava dome inside or downslope from an area of active volcanism. New lava flows will cover the surrounding land, isolating the kīpuka so that it appears as a (usually) forested island in a barren lava flow.

Lava domes[link]

A forested lava dome in the midst of the Valle Grande, the largest meadow in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, United States.

Lava domes are formed by the extrusion of viscous felsic magma. They can form prominent rounded protuberances, such as at Valles Caldera. As a volcano extrudes silicic lava, it can form an inflation dome, gradually building up a large, pillow-like structure which cracks, fissures, and may release cooled chunks of rock and rubble. The top and side margins of an inflating lava dome tend to be covered in fragments of rock, breccia and ash.

Examples of lava dome eruptions include the Novarupta dome, and successive lava domes of Mount St Helens.

Lava tubes[link]

Lava tubes are formed when a flow of relatively fluid lava cools on the upper surface sufficiently to form a crust. Beneath this crust, which being made of rock is an excellent insulator, the lava can continue to flow as a liquid. When this flow occurs over a prolonged period of time the lava conduit can form a tunnel-like aperture or lava tube, which can conduct molten rock many kilometres from the vent without cooling appreciably. Often these lava tubes drain out once the supply of fresh lava has stopped, leaving a considerable length of open tunnel within the lava flow.

Lava tubes are known from the modern day eruptions of Kīlauea, and significant, extensive and open lava tubes of Tertiary age are known from North Queensland, Australia, some extending for 15 kilometres.

Lava cascades and fountains[link]

Lava fountain within Villarrica's crater

The eruptions of lava are sometimes attended by peculiarities which impart to them much additional grandeur. Instances have occurred in which the molten stream has plunged over a sheer precipice of immense height, so as to produce a glowing cascade exceeding (in breadth and perpendicular descent) the celebrated Niagara Falls. In other cases, the lava, instead of at once flowing down the sides of the mountain, has been first thrown up into the air as a lava fountain up to several hundred metres in height (see volcanic cone).

Lava lakes[link]

Rarely, a volcanic cone may fill with lava but not erupt. Lava which pools within the caldera is known as a lava lake. Lava lakes do not usually persist for long, either draining back into the magma chamber once pressure is relieved (usually by venting of gases through the caldera), or by draining via eruption of lava flows or pyroclastic explosion.

There are only a few sites in the world where permanent lakes of lava exist. These include:

• Mount Erebus, Antarctica
• Pu'u 'Ō'ō and Halemaʻumaʻu crater on Kīlauea volcano, Hawaiʻi
• Erta Ale, Ethiopia
• Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of Congo
• Ambrym, Vanuatu.

Shiprock, New Mexico, United States: a volcanic neck in the distance, with a radiating dike on its south side. Photo credit: USGS Digital Data Series

Lava delta[link]

Lava deltas form wherever sub-aerial flows of lava enter standing bodies of water. The lava cools and breaks up as it encounters the water, with the resulting fragments filling in the seabed topography such that the sub-aerial flow can move further offshore. Lava deltas are generally associated with large-scale, effusive type basaltic volcanism.

Unusual lavas[link]

Some lavas of unusual composition have erupted onto the surface of the Earth. These include:

• Carbonatite and natrocarbonatite lavas are known from Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania, which is the sole example of an active carbonatite volcano.^[9]
• Copper sulfide bearing lavas have been recognised from Chile and Bolivia^{[10][not in citation given]}
• Iron oxide lavas are thought to be the source of the iron ore at Kiruna, Sweden, erupted in the Proterozoic, and in Chile associated with highly alkaline igneous rocks^{[11][not in citation given]}
• Olivine nephelinite lavas are a unique type of lava that is thought to have come from much deeper in the mantle of the Earth.^[12]

The term "lava" can also be used to refer to molten "ice mixtures" in eruptions on the icy satellites of the Solar system's gas giants.^[13] See cryovolcanism.

Hazards[link]

A Hawaii resident welcomes Pele (deity) wearing boots, long pants, and gloves. Kilauea volcano 2008.

Lava flows are enormously destructive to property in their path. However, casualties are rare since flows are usually slow enough for people to escape, though this is dependent on the viscosity of the lava. Nevertheless injuries and deaths have occurred, either because people had their escape route cut off, because they got too close to the flow^[14] or, more rarely, if the lava flow front travels too quickly. This notably happened during the eruption of Nyiragongo in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). On the night of 10 January 1977 a crater wall was breached and a fluid lava lake drained out in under an hour. The resulting flow sped down the steep slopes at up to 100 km/h, and overwhelmed several villages while residents were asleep. As a result of this disaster, the mountain was designated a Decade Volcano in 1991.^[15]

Deaths attributed to volcanoes frequently have a different cause, for example volcanic ejecta, pyroclastic flow from a collapsing lava dome, lahars, poisonous gases that travel ahead of lava, or explosions caused when the flow comes into contact with water.^[14] A particularly dangerous area is called a lava bench. This very young ground will typically break-off and fall into the sea.

Areas of recent lava flows continue to represent a hazard long after the lava has cooled. Where young flows have created new lands, land is more unstable and can break-off into the sea. Flows often have deep cracks, and any fall against fresh lava is similar to falling against broken glass. Rugged hiking boots, long pants, and gloves are recommended when crossing lava flows. Special care should be taken whenever entering an isolated kipuka cut off by a lava flow. Wildlife, especially wild boar, can become trapped and concentrated within a kipuka. The chances of encountering boars in a Hawaiian kipuka is particularly high. Making a lot of noise is recommended and back away slowly if one holds ground.

Towns destroyed by lava flows[link]

Lava can easily destroy entire towns. This picture shows one of over 100 houses destroyed by the lava flow in Kalapana, Hawaiʻi, United States, in 1990.

• Kalapana, Hawaiʻi Destroyed by the eruption of the Kīlauea volcano in 1990. (abandoned)
• Koae and Kapoho, Hawaiʻi Were both destroyed by the same eruption of Kīlauea in January, 1960.^[16] (abandoned)
• Keawaiki, Hawaiʻi 1859 (abandoned)

• San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Italy Destroyed in 1944 by the most recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius during the Allies' occupation of southern Italy. (rebuilt)
• Cagsawa, Philippines ^[17]

Towns damaged by lava flows[link]

• Catania, Italy, in the eruption Mount Etna in 1669 (rebuilt)
• Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, in the eruption of Nyiragongo in 2002
• Heimaey, Iceland, in the 1973 Eldfell eruption (rebuilt)
• Royal Gardens, Hawaiʻi, by the eruption of Kilauea in 1986–87 (abandoned)
• Parícutin (village after which the volcano was named) and San Juan Parangaricutiro, Mexico, by Parícutin from 1943 to 1952.
• Sale'aula, Samoa, by eruptions of Mt Matavanu between 1905 and 1911.

Towns destroyed by tephra[link]

Tephra is volcanic ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs or volcanic blocks.

• Pompeii, Italy in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD
• Herculaneum, Italy in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD
• Sumbawa Island, Indonesia in the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 AD
• Cerén, El Salvador in the eruption of Ilopango between 410 and 535 AD^[18]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Lava ropes at Krafla, June 2007

• 

  Lava at Krafla

• 

  The hardened lava flow off of Lava Butte

• 

  Outcrop of a Pillow Lava, Italy

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Look up lava, aa, or pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: lava

• USGS definition of ʻAʻā
• USGS definition of Pāhoehoe
• USGS definition of Ropy Pāhoehoe
• Volcanic landforms of Hawaiʻi
• USGS hazards associated with lava flows
• Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Volcano Watch newsletter article on Nyiragongo eruptions, 31 January 2002
• National Geographic lava video Retrieved 23 August 2007

Richard Hammond
Hammond in May 2006.
Born	Richard Mark Hammond (1969-12-19) 19 December 1969 (age 42)[1] Solihull, Warwickshire, England
Residence	Weston under Penyard, Herefordshire, England
Other names	Hamster
Education	Solihull School Ripon Grammar School
Alma mater	Harrogate College of Art and Technology
Occupation	Broadcaster, journalist, author, media personality, talk and game show host, voice-over artist
Years active	1998, 2002–present
Employer	BBC, The Daily Mirror (prev. ITV & Sky)
Known for	Presenting: Brainiac: Science Abuse Crufts Should I Worry About...? The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show Top Gear Petrolheads Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel Total Wipeout Richard Hammond's Blast Lab Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds
Home town	Solihull, West Midlands, England
Height	5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m)[2]
Spouse	Amanda Etheridge (m. 2002) «start: (2002-05-04)»"Marriage: Amanda Etheridge to Richard Hammond" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Richard_Hammond)
Children	2
Parents	Eileen and Alan Hammond

Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting the car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting series 1–4 of Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1. Since 2009, Hammond has co-hosted Total Wipeout with Amanda Byram on BBC One which has since been cancelled.

Hammond is currently presenting Planet Earth Live alongside Julia Bradbury.

Early life[link]

Hammond was born in Solihull and is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham automobile industry.^[3][4] In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family (mother Eileen, father Alan, and younger brothers Andrew, writer of the 'Crypt' Series, and Nicholas) to the North Yorkshire cathedral city of Ripon where his father ran a probate business in the market square. Originally a pupil of Solihull School, a fee-paying boys' independent school, he moved to Ripon Grammar School, and from 1987 to 1989 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology. After his graduation he worked for several radio stations, including Radio Cleveland, Radio York, Radio Cumbria, Radio Leeds, Radio Newcastle and Radio Lancashire, before auditioning for Top Gear.^[5]

Top Gear[link]

Hammond became a presenter on Top Gear in 2002, when the show began in its present format. He is sometimes referred to as "Hamster" by fans and his co-presenters on Top Gear due to his name and comparatively small stature.^[6] His nickname was further reinforced when on three separate occasions in series 7, Hammond ate cardboard,^[7] mimicking hamster-like behaviour. A running gag is Hammond's supposed use of teeth whitener.^[8] In a series 7 episode, co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson claimed to have found a pack of teeth whiteners in a Marcos TSO GT2 that Hammond had tested. Hammond objected, claiming it was a set-up. In a series 10 episode that featured the Peel P50, Clarkson was seen supposedly talking to Hammond on the phone about him considering a tooth whitening treatment costing £4000. Later, during a series 13 episode that featured the presenters in their office searching for car insurance prices, a teeth whitening kit was pictured on his desk. It was staged to appear that he was caught looking at a website on teeth whiteners on Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show.

In the first episode of series 9 broadcast on 28 January 2007, having recovered from his high speed crash Hammond returned to a hero's welcome, complete with dancing girls, aeroplane style stairs and fireworks. The show also contained images of the crash, which had made international headlines, with Hammond talking through the events of the day after which the audience broke into spontaneous applause. Hammond then requested that the crash never be mentioned on the show again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referred to it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. He told his colleagues, "The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is that I like celery now and I didn't before".^[9]

During the third episode of series sixteen, Hammond suggested that no one would ever want to own a Mexican car, since cars are supposed to reflect national characteristics and so a Mexican car would be a "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight oaf." Hammond finished with the remark "I'm sorry, but can you imagine waking up and remembering you're Mexican?!"^[10] Following complaints, the BBC defended the broadcast of this segment on the grounds that such national stereotyping was a "robust part" of traditional British humour.^[11]

Brainiac: Science Abuse[link]

In 2003, Hammond became the first presenter of Brainiac: Science Abuse; he was joined by Jon Tickle with Charlotte Hudson joining in series 2.^[12] After the fourth series it was announced that Hammond was no longer going to present the Sky1 show after he signed an exclusive deal with the BBC. Vic Reeves took his place as main presenter.^[13]

Other television work[link]

Early in his career, as well as his radio work, Hammond presented a number of daytime lifestyle shows and motoring programmes such as Motor Week on Men & Motors.

He presented the Crufts dog show in 2005, the 2004 and 2005 British Parking Awards, and has appeared on School's Out, a quiz show on BBC One where celebrities answer questions about things they learned at school. He has also presented The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend.^[14] Along with his work on Top Gear, he presented Should I Worry About...? on BBC One, Time Commanders on BBC Two and the first four series of Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky One. He was also a team captain on the BBC Two quiz show, Petrolheads, in which a memorable part was one where Hammond was tricked into smashing his classic Ferrari while trying to parallel park blindfolded in another car.

From 3 January 2006 until 10 February 2006, Hammond was the eponymous star of Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show with his co-star Mel Giedroyc of Light Lunch fame.^[15] The programme, which discussed a wide range of topics, was shown every weekday on ITV between 17:00 and 18:00.^[15]

In July 2005, Hammond was voted number one in a Heat magazine poll of top "weird celebrity crushes". Also in 2005 he was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents.^[16]

He presented Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail in 2006. During the special, he travelled to various locations around the world, including the Vatican Secret Archives, exploring the history of the Holy Grail.^[17]

In one episode of Top Gear, fellow presenter James May was mocked by both Hammond and Clarkson for being named the celebrity with the worst hairstyle, while Hammond was named the celebrity with the best.

As part of Red Nose Day 2007, Hammond stood for nomination via a public telephone vote, along with Andy Hamilton and Kelvin MacKenzie, to be a one-off co-presenter of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour on 16 March 2007.^[18] However, he was defeated by Andy Hamilton.

In April 2007, Hammond presented a one off special on BBC Radio 2 for Good Friday followed by another in August 2007 for the Bank Holiday. He is scheduled to present more Bank Holiday specials for the station.

Hammond recorded an interview with the famed American stuntman Evel Knievel, which aired on 23 December 2007 on BBC One, and was Knievel's last interview before his death on 30 November 2007.^[19]

In September 2008, Hammond presented the first episode of a new series; Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections on the National Geographic Channel.^[20] In this show, Hammond discovers how the inventions of the past, along with assistance from nature, help designers today. Episodes include the building of the Airbus A380, Taipei 101 and the Keck Observatory.^[20] Series 2 of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections began in May 2010 and has included the building of the Wembley Stadium and the Sydney Opera House.

Hammond also filmed an advertisement for Morrisons supermarkets in 2008,^[21] and joined the cast of TV show Ashes To Ashes for a special insert on the 2008 Children in Need special.

While in New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2009, Hammond filmed several television commercials for Telecom New Zealand's new XT UTMS mobile network. Telecom claimed that the new network was "faster in more places", compared to its competitors and its existing CDMA network. After the network repeatedly failed in late 2009 and early 2010, Hammond became the butt of a joke when he did not return to New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2010. His fellow Top Gear co-hosts said he was too embarrassed to come back to New Zealand, and in a supposed live feed back to Hammond, the feed suddenly drops out as the "XT Network had crashed".^[22] Hammond was later given the right of reply to his colleagues during an interview with Marcus Lush on RadioLIVE's breakfast show in New Zealand.^[23]

Hammond is currently hosting the UK version of the US series Wipeout, called Total Wipeout. It takes place in Argentina, and is co-presented by Hammond and Amanda Byram. Hammond presents and does the voiceover for the clips in a London studio, and Byram is filmed at the obstacle course in Buenos Aires.^[24]

Hammond also presented a science-themed game show for children, Richard Hammond's Blast Lab which aired on BBC Two and CBBC.^[25]

In March 2010, Hammond presented a 3 episode series called Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds, which looked at things too fast for the naked eye to see, things that are beyond the visible spectrum (e.g. ultraviolet and infra-red light), as well as microscopic things.

One of Hammond's lesser known television roles was as presenter of the BBC2 'gameshow' Time Commanders, a sophisticated warfare simulator which used a modified version of Creative Assembly's Rome: Total War game engine.^[26]

Since February 2011, Hammond has presented a online technology series "Richard Hammond's Tech Head".^[27]

In July 2011, Hammond presented a two-part natural science documentary Richard Hammond's Journey To The Centre Of The Planet, focused on Earth geology and plate tectonics.^[28][29]

Hammond will also host the upcoming BBC America programme Richard Hammond's Crash Course.^[30]

Personal life[link]

Hammond has been married to Amanda Etheridge (mostly known as Mindy)^[31] since May 2002; the couple have two daughters.^[3] The family lives in a mock castle in Herefordshire and also has an apartment in London. Hammond also plays the bass guitar, on which he accompanied the other Top Gear presenters when they performed alongside Justin Hawkins on Top Gear of the Pops for Comic Relief in 2007. Hammond likes to ride his bicycle in cities, for which he is mocked mercilessly by fellow presenter Jeremy Clarkson.^[32]

Hammond is a fan of Porsche 911s and claims the Pagani Zonda to be the ultimate supercar. He once owned a 1982 Porsche 911 SC (sold in the mid-2000s),^[33][34] and later purchased a 2006 Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S.^[35] In 2004, Hammond purchased a Porsche 928 for the purpose of daily driving.^[36] Much unlike Clarkson and May, he also has an interest in American muscle cars. Hammond has owned a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T,^[36] a 1967 Ford Mustang GT 390,^[37] and a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 (which was purchased in the United States on a Series 12 episode of Top Gear).^[38]

Hammond had also owned a Morgan AeroMax, in which he was involved in a car accident on 9 August 2009. He also owns a Jaguar E-Type^[39] and is also a fan of monster trucks, having attended Truckfest '07.

An interview with The Sunday Times in February 2008 reported Hammond as having moved briefly from Gloucestershire to Buckinghamshire, then back again because he missed the country life.^[40]

Hammond is a keen motorcyclist^[41] and Land Rover Defender fan. He spent over £70,000 rebuilding his 110 "Buster" in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

During the news segment of Top Gear's 2010 USA Road Trip special, Hammond openly expressed his dislike of the band Genesis. This fact was later exploited by his co-presenters in two special episodes: during the Middle East Special, when they installed a secret second stereo unit in his Fiat Barchetta that only plays the band's Live over Europe 2007 concert; in the India Special, Clarkson played the same song used in the previous special through the megaphone mounted in his Jaguar XJS, despite Hammond driving a different car (a Mini Cooper Sport).

In October it was reported he had spent over £2 million buying Bollitree Castle which is situated near Weston under Penyard, Ross-on-Wye. It has been rumoured he has also bought a large house in the small town of Wantage, Oxfordshire^{[citation needed]}.^[42][43]

On Top Gear in 2007, Hammond went to Africa on an 'Epic Road Trip' across Botswana. While there he found a 1963 Opel Kadett, in which he drove across Botswana. Hammond named it Oliver. On Top Gear a week after the special was aired, Hammond announced during the news, that he had shipped Oliver back to the UK, where it was restored by a team from Practical Classics magazine. Oliver features on Hammond's children's science television show Richard Hammond's Blast Lab and in another episode of Top Gear as a kind of "Hill-holder" in the trailer truck challenge (after it acquired the personal plate "OLI V3R"). Oliver is also mentioned in Hammond's second autobiography As You Do.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, Hammond was the President of the 31st Herefordshire Country Fair held at Hampton Court in Hope under Dinmore. His involvement caused unprecedented attendance with "nearly 15,000 people" drawn to the event to meet the presenter.^[45]

In 2010, Hammond gained a private pilot licence PPL(H) in an R44 helicopter.

During season 18 of Top Gear it was revealed that he owns a Fiat 500 TwinAir.

Charity work[link]

Richard Hammond is a Vice-President of UK children's brain injury charity The Children's Trust, Tadworth.^[46]

[edit] Vampire dragster crash

During filming of a Top Gear segment at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York on 20 September 2006, Hammond was injured in the crash of the jet-powered car he was piloting.^{[47][48][49]:1} Hammond was travelling at 288 mph (463 km/h) at the time of the crash.^[50]

His vehicle, a dragster called Vampire, was theoretically capable of travelling at speeds of up to 370 mph (595 km/h).^[48] The vehicle was the same car that in 2000, piloted by Colin Fallows, set the British land speed record at 300.3 mph (483.3 km/h).^[49]:3[51] The Vampire was powered by a single Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus afterburning turbojet engine producing 10000 hp (7.5 MW).^[48][50]

Some accounts suggested that the accident occurred during an attempt to break the British land speed record,^[47][52] but the Health and Safety Executive report on the crash found that a proposal to try to officially break the record was vetoed in advance by Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman, due to the risks and complexities of such a venture.^[49]:4 (The report stated: "Runs were to be carried out in only one direction along a pre-set course on the Elvington runway. Vampire’s speed was to be recorded using GPS satellite telemetry. The intention was to record the maximum speed, not to measure an average speed over a measured course, and for [Hammond] to describe how it felt.")^[49]:1

Hammond was completing a seventh and final run to collect extra footage for the programme when his front-right tyre failed,^[49]:8[53] and, according to witness and first responder Dave Ogden, "one of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us."^[54] The emergency crew quickly arrived at the car, finding it inverted and partially embedded in the grass.^[52] During the roll, Hammond's helmet had embedded itself into the ground, flipping the visor up and forcing dirt into his mouth and left eye, damaging the eye. Rescuers felt a pulse and heard the unconscious Hammond breathing before the car was turned upright.^[52] Hammond was cut free with hydraulic shears, and placed on a backboard.^[49]:9 "He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain".^[52] He was then transported by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to the neurological unit of the Leeds General Infirmary.^{[47][49]:9[55]} Hammond's family visited him at the hospital along with Top Gear co-presenters James May and Jeremy Clarkson.^[54][55] Clarkson wished Hammond well, saying "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'Hamster' back", referring to Hammond by his nickname.^[47][54]

The Health & Safety Executive report stated that "Hammond's instantaneous reaction to the tyre blow out seems to have been that of a competent high performance car driver, namely to brake the car and to try to steer into the skid. Immediately afterwards he also seems to have followed his training and to have pulled back on the main parachute release lever, thus shutting down the jet engine and also closing the jet and afterburner fuel levers. The main parachute did not have time to deploy before the car ran off the runway."^[49]:13 The HSE notes that, based on the findings of the North Yorkshire Police (who investigated the crash), "the accident may not have been recoverable", even if Hammond's efforts to react were as fast as "humanly possible".^[49]:13

The crash was shown on an episode of Top Gear on 28 January 2007; this was the first episode of the new series, which had been postponed pending Hammond's recovery. Hammond requested at the end of the episode that his fellow presenters never mention the crash again, a request which has been generally observed by both Hammond and the other presenters, although occasional oblique references have been made. On The Edge: My Story, which contains first hand accounts from both Hammond and his wife about the crash, immediate aftermath, and his recovery was published later that year.

In February 2008 Hammond gave an interview to The Sunday Times newspaper in which he described the effects of his brain injuries and the progression of his recovery.^[56] He reported suffering loss of memory, depression, and difficulties with emotional experiences, for which he was consulting a psychiatrist.^[56] He also talked about his recovery in a 2010 television programme where he interviewed Sir Stirling Moss and they discussed the brain injuries they had both received as a result of car crashes.^[57]

After the car crash the BBC website Have Your Say received more than 10,000 messages of good wishes and sympathy for Richard Hammond from people around the world.

Works[link]

TV shows[link]

Books[link]

Car books[link]

• Hammond, Richard (13 October 2005). What Not To Drive. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 276 pages. ISBN 978-0-297-84800-4. 
• Hammond, Richard (5 October 2006). Richard Hammond's Car Confidential. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 144 pages. ISBN 978-0-297-84445-7. 
• Hammond, Richard (28 May 2009). A Short History of Caravans in the UK. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 144 pages. ISBN 978-0-297-84446-4. 
• Hammond, Richard (20 May 2010). Richard Hammond's Caravan Confidential. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 144 pages. ISBN 978-0-7538-2671-3. 

Children's books[link]

• Hammond, Richard (29 June 2006). Can You Feel the Force?: Putting the Fizz Back into Physics. Dorling Kindersley Publishers. pp. 96 pages. ISBN 978-1-4053-1543-2. 
• Hammond, Richard (2 June 2008). Car Science (Hardback). Dorling Kindersley Publishers. pp. 96 pages. ISBN 978-1-4053-3200-2. 
• Hammond, Richard (1 September 2008). Car Science (Paperback). Dorling Kindersley Publishers. pp. 96 pages. ISBN 978-0-7566-4026-2. 

Biographies[link]

• Hammond, Richard (20 September 2007). On The Edge: My Story (Hardback). Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 308 pages. ISBN 978-0-297-85327-5. 
• Hammond, Richard (29 May 2008). On The Edge: My Story (Paperback). Phoenix. pp. 308 pages. ISBN 978-0-7538-2404-7. 
• Hammond, Richard (7 August 2008). On The Edge: My Story (Abridged). Phoenix. pp. 256 pages. ISBN 978-0-7538-2330-9. 
• Hammond, Richard (18 September 2008). As You Do: Adventures with Evel, Oliver and the Vice-President of Botswana (Hardback). Orion Publishing Co. pp. 268 pages. ISBN 978-0-297-85520-0. 
• Hammond, Richard (28 May 2009). As You Do: Adventures with Evel, Oliver and the Vice-President of Botswana (Paperback). Orion Publishing Co. pp. 314 pages. ISBN 978-0-7538-2562-4. 
• Hammond, Richard (1 October 2009). Or Is That Just Me? (Hardback). Phoenix. pp. 256 pages. ISBN 978-0-297-85521-7. 
• Hammond, Richard (20 May 2010). Or Is That Just Me? (Paperback). Phoenix. pp. 352 pages. ISBN 978-0-7538-2562-4. 

DVDs[link]

1. Top Gear Interactive Challenge Quiz (2007, 2|Entertain).
2. Top Gear Interactive Stunt Challenge Quiz (2008, 2|Entertain).
3. Top Gear Uncovered: The DVD Special (2009, 2|Entertain).
4. Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections: Series One (2009, Nat Geo DVD).
5. Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds (2010, 2|Entertain).
6. Top Gear: Apocalypse (With James May) (2010, 2|Enertain).
7. Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections: Series Two (2010, Nat Geo DVD).
8. Hammond Meets Moss (2010, Acorn Media UK).
9. Richard Hammond's Journey To The Centre Of The Planet (2011, 2|Entertain).
10. Top Gear: At The Movies (With James May) (2011, 2|Entertain).
11. Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections: Series Three (2011, Nat Geo DVD).

Television advertisements[link]

1. Morrisons (2008)
2. Morrisons (Christmas 2008)
3. Morrisons (2009)
4. Morrisons (Christmas 2009)
5. Top Gear Turbo Challenge Trading Cards Test Set (2009)
6. Top Gear Turbo Challenge Trading Cards (2010)
7. Top Gear Interactive Challenge DVD (2007)
8. Top Gear Interactive Stunt Challenge DVD (2009)
9. Top Gear Uncovered DVD (2009)
10. Top Gear [Re-Runs On Dave] (2009)
11. Telecom XT network NZ (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Richard Hammond

• Official website
• Richard Hammond on Twitter
• Richard Hammond at the Internet Movie Database
• Donations to Yorkshire Air Ambulance double as a result of their life-saving rescue of Richard Hammond
• Richard Hammond on Top Gear
• Q&A – The Guardian – 2009-1-3. Hammond questions about himself. Retrieved 2009-6-29.