This is wild. As the drops break out down the slope, the pressure moving the lava, pushing on the cooling skin above it, twists the skin into ropes. This is classic pahoehoe lava. Even where I was standing, the temperature underfoot was a few hundred degrees [approximately 150°C] at least, and there are radiant rocks above me.
The deceptive calm of an extremely hot flowThis shot may look like a dreamy day on the side of a volcano, but it was really wicked. I am standing downwind of an a'a flow, which is notorious for emitting an exceptional amount of radiant heat. It was really, truly ferociously hot.
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