Light and shadow

Light and shadows on a fern leaf inside the Volcanos National Park in Hilo, Hawaii. It's worth the visit, if you're ever on the island. Photo taken in January 2010.

Lava tube

I heard about the lava tubes before going to visit the volcano, but I really didn't have any idea of what they were. Now I do! This is an empty lava tube - the hot, molten stuff was once rushing through these very walls. When the lava meets a dead end, the pressure builds up causing an eruption. It was a very interesting visit, to say the least.

Lava

More of Mount Kiluea. This is where some dried lava cracked and bunched up. There was so much interesting terrain.

Photo taken in January 2010.

The plume

This is the plume you saw in the background of yesterday's photo. This crater is near the Volcanoes National Park. Sometimes this area is closed, depending on the way the wind blows. Although it looks like steam - this is actually a plume of gases which can be poisonous if inhaled in large quantities. It was a very cool day - we even saw some molten lava flowing (from a great distance) as we cruised by the island that night.

Mount Kiluea

My husband and I hiked across this volcanic crater during our recent visit to Hilo, Hawaii. There is live lava only 50 feet underneath, it was pretty exciting to walk across a live volcano!

Photo taken January 2010.