Lava Flow Pictures

Hornitos in Santiago Island Lava Flow

Here are some tiny hornitos in the lava field on Santiago Island in the Galapagos. Hornitos are formed in lava flows when a small opening releases a small amount of lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Mollugo Colonized Lava Flow

The lava field on Santiago Island in the Galapagos is just over a century old, but it is only starting to be colonized by plants. This Mollugo plant is one of the early pioneers.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Shadow of an Engulfed Tree

When the lava started flowing across Santiago Island in the Galapagos around 1900, the landscape was not completely barren. This section of the lava flow shows the outline of a tree than was engulfed by the lava, and subsequently burned away.

Line of Bubbles in Lava Flow

This section of the pahoehoe lava flow on Santiago Island in the Galapagos shows a line of popped bubbles that formed in the lava before it hardened.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Incoming Lava Flow

At the end of our hike across the lava flow on Santiago Island in the Galapagos, you can see a narrower section of lava flow coming from deeper into the interior of the island. This is the channel that fed the larger lava field across which we hiked.

Lava Field Boundary

A massive lava flow covered the southern part of Santiago Island in the Galapagos sometime around 1900. This picture shows the edge of that lava field, where it meets the older part of Santiago Island.

Hornito in Santiago Island Lava Flow

Hornitos are formed in lava flows when a small opening releases a small amount of lava. This is a hornito in the lava flow on Santiago Island in the Galapagos.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Pahoehoe Lava on Santiago Island

Sometime around 1900, an eruption on Santiago Island in the Galapagos led to a field of pahoehoe lava covering the southern part of the island. This is a picture of a small section of that lava showing the interesting patterns in the hardened lava.

Lava flow Underwater

Taken while snorkeling in Sullivan Bay at Santiago Island in the Galapagos. This section of the lava flow is underwater and has been colored by coral growth.

Lava Flow Underwater

Taken while snorkeling in Sullivan Bay at Santiago Island in the Galapagos. Although all of this lava flow was underwater, clearly the upper (black) part gets exposed at low tide since it has not collected enough coral to change color.

Lava Island in Sullivan Bay

This section of the lava flow on Santiago Island in the Galapagos has formed a tiny island in Sullivan Bay.

Small Lava Tubes

On the side of the hill on Bartolomé Island in the Galapagos, you can see a few lava tubes. Lava tubes are formed when the lava flowing hardens at the surface but continues to flow under the shell.