Showing posts with label lava. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lava. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Lava tubes of the American West

Two Tubes, Ape Cave, Washington

The American West is home to about a dozen majestic volcanoes. Most of the time we appreciate their towering summits. But what’s underground can be every bit as spectacular.

The volcanoes don’t erupt that often. Only one — Mount St. Helens — has erupted during my lifetime. But occasionally they erupt in such a way that produces dramatic caves, called lava tubes. One of my projects this year was to explore more of them.

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The story behind Pahoehoe Lava Flow

Pahoehoe Lava Flow, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

In most national parks, geology is a history lesson. You see a feature of the land and must work to visualize the progression of forces that formed it. In Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, however, the land changes before your eyes.