nuée ardente

[ny-ey ar-dahnt]

noun

Geology.

plural

nuées ardentes 

1. (in a volcanic eruption) a swiftly flowing, dense cloud of hot gases, ashes, and lava fragments.

nuée ardente

/ ˈnyeɪ ɑːˈdɑ̃t /

noun

1. a rapidly moving turbulent incandescent cloud of gas, ash, and rock fragments flowing close to the ground after violent ejection from a volcano See also ignimbrite

nuée ardente

plural

nuées ardentes 

1. A fast moving gaseous cloud of hot ashes and other material thrown out from an erupting volcano. Nuées ardentes are often incandescent.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuée ardente¹

1900–05; < French: literally, burning cloud

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuée ardente¹

C20: from French, literally: burning cloud

Example Sentences

Watching it, realizing it would plow right through the river valley between them and the mountain, Catherine thought of two words: “nuée ardente,” glowing cloud.

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So we fled… Nuee ardente from west, Mount St. Helens.

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“Nuée ardente” immediately came to mind as it became obvious nothing would stop it – not even the deep river valley that lay between us and the mountain.

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A “nueé ardente”, today referred as pyroclastic density current, is a mixture of volcanic particles and hot gases that flows according to its density over long distances.

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