What is basalt?

Basalt is a type of rock that forms when hot lava cools down slowly underground.

Imagine you have a big pot of melted chocolate, that's like lava. If you pour it into a bowl and let it cool, it becomes hard chocolate again, just like how basalt is made. When lava from a volcano cools inside the ground, it turns into a solid rock called basalt.

Basalt often has dark colors, like black or dark gray, and can have lines or patterns in it. These are like the fingerprints of the lava, showing how it cooled down and hardened over time. You might see basalt in places where there used to be volcanoes, sometimes even under your feet!