Non-Hawaiian Lava Lands

Like Hawaii, Central Oregon is lava land. Masses of basalt covered this region millions of years ago, and more recent eruptions added lava up to several thousand years before the present. Due to the cold, dry climate, many of these lava flows appear rather fresh...but this one, in Lava Cast Forest, is really about 6 thousand years old. Central Oregon, like Hawaii, has kipukas...islands of vegetation in seas of barren lava. Here the kipukas are ponderosa and jack pines instead of ohia trees, but they're equally dramatic.

The lava flows in this area buried trees and created molds, both vertical and horizontal. In this case a tree, probably a ponderosa, was toppled and buried by lava, but the wood in the trunk did not burn or decompose until after the lava had cooled, leaving a mold.

This is a view of Paulina(l) and East(r) Lakes, about 15-20 miles southeast of Lava Cast Forest. These lakes were created when a large shield volcano erupted, drained its magma chamber, and collapsed; the caldera then filled with water. This process was similar to the creation of Crater Lake. The caldera holding Paulina and East Lakes is known as Newberry Crater. Like Crater Lake, though, volcanic activity here was not over. In Newberry Crater, later eruptions formed an isthmus between the two lakes some 7 thousand years ago. Then, only about 1300 years ago, another eruption brought forth the lava flow in the right foreground of the picture, which cooled very rapidly and became obsidian. For a closer look at the obsidian field, refer to blog posts from September 07. This picture was taken from the summit of Paulina Peak, the highest point on the rim of Newberry Crater. There is a rather rough though wide gravel road leading to the summit. My new Solara navigated it well; I declined to take the old Mustang up last year.