A lava dome is a rounded, steep-sided mound that forms when viscous lava extrudes slowly from a volcanic vent. Lava domes are significant in studying volcanic hazards, as they can produce pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and explosive eruptions when they collapse or are disrupted.
Source Fink, J. H. (1983). “Structure and Evolution of a Rhyolitic Obsidian Flow: Little Glass Mountain, Medicine Lake Highland, Northern California.” Geological Society of America Bulletin, 94(4), 362-380.