Geology Picture of the Week, June 8-14, 2003 (with bonus link for last week)

USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory ^ | June 1, 2003

[cogitator]

And a bonus image link:

Hawaiian Islands

[cogitator]

I missed last week due to a trip, so here's a close-up image and a link to a "big picture".

[cogitator]

** ping, with apologies for not posting a picture
last week **

[cogitator]

I just found out that Piton de la Fournaise (La Reunion island in the Indian Ocean) had a very short eruption last week. Some nice pictures of it are here (text is in French):

Images d'eruption

[Rennes Templar]

Pardon my ignorance, but what the h*#l is that?

[cogitator]

It's a solidified "toe" of pahoehoe lava. As the lava extrudes in the flow, it forms "toes" (kinda like the way that an amoeba moves) as the lava moves forward. Most of the time the toes stay on the ground; for some reason this one caught some air before solidifying.

[cogitator]

Addition to my previous reply; if you click the HVO link at the top, you can see a lot more images of the flows. I checked, and though this looks large in the picture, it's only about 30 cm (a foot) long. [There are some other ways I could phrase that, but I'll desist... ]

[capitan_refugio]

Nice picture. I suggest we submit an application to the USGS naming committee and designate this landmark as "Clinton's Pecker." I think, these days, he could use the publicity, with Hitlery's book and all.

[Rennes Templar]

I see, thanks. I thought it was the fossilized tail of a dinosaur covered in lava.