[an error occurred while processing this directive]
3 of 22
Photograph by Frans Lanting
A scorching lava syrup coats fractured ground as it spills from Kīlauea's Pu'u 'Ō'ō crater, active since 1983. The relatively gentle, flowing nature of lava in Hawai'i creates mounded mountains said to resemble ancient battle shields—giving them the name shield volcanoes.
