Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

surface of the June 27th lava flow, near flow front. The pāhoehoe ...

Detailed Description

A close-up view of the surface of the June 27th lava flow, near the flow front. The pāhoehoe flow is too thin and slow to topple trees as it passes, but instead the lava surrounds the trees and burns through the base. When the trees fall over, the flow surface may have cooled enough that the trunks remain intact. If the surface is hot enough to burn through the fallen trunks, all that remains is a line of ashen residue (see right side of image).