High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A pyroclastic flow (also known scientifically as a pyroclastic density current) is a fast-moving current of superheated gas (which can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F)) and rock (collectively known as tephra), which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h (450 mph). The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity. Their speed depends upon the density of the current, the volcanic output rate, and the gradient of the slope. They are a common and devastating result of certain explosive volcanic eruptions.