Lava Tree State Park, Hawaii
September 06, 2012
Photographer: Rick Stankiewicz
Summary Author: Rick Stankiewicz
The photo above showing a strange landscape of large limbed deciduous trees and stubby "lava trees" was taken in Lava Tree Park, Hawaii. While visiting the Big Island of Hawaii in 2006, my wife and I discovered this unique little state park, just east of the famous Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Lava Tree Park was once a large open grove of ohi’a trees, but a fast flowing pahoehoe lava stream, from nearby Kilauea Volcano, engulfed the grove, flowing over and around the trees. A number were burned, but in many cases the lava started to cool upon contact with the trunks. Fissures then opened which allowed the lava to quickly retreat. All that now remains are the partial casts of the trees that once stood here. The inside of these molds are burned out and hollow shells, hinting at the trees they once contained. These blackened remnants look like large termite mounds or old columns of candles -- some reach over 10 ft (3 m) tall. Photo taken on February 8, 2006.
Photo details: Camera Maker: NIKON; Camera Model: E995; Focal Length: 10.8mm; Aperture: f/2.9; Exposure Time: 0.022 s (1/46); ISO equiv: 100; Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Matrix; Exposure: program (Auto); Flash Fired: No; Color Space: sRGB; Software: E995v1.7.