Cooled Pāhoehoe Lava

pāhoehoe lava

Pāhoehoe Lava
Location:  Mauna Loa, Big Island, Hawaii

This won't win the prize for the prettiest photo ever posted on this blog, but I thought it would be a good follow-up to my previous post on pāhoehoe lava from Mauna Loa volcano.  This image is a closer view of the surface of pāhoehoe lava, which has cooled and hardened.   This, too, is part of a 1935 flow from Mauna Loa.   As you can see, a hardy lichen has sprouted from a crack, much as a weed would sprout from sidewalk cracks.

2 comments:

kml said...

Wow - hard to believe anything could grow in the lava rock. And it is beautiful and most unique in it's own way.

BNS said...

Hi Kathy - Eventually, after many, many years, lots of plants start growing in the cracks and eventually cover the surface, but it takes a long time for that to happen.

Bobbie