Geo 365: May 30, Day 150: Stairway to Heaven

The stairway up to the loop trail on top of the Big Obsidian Flow provides a rare sense of scale in this setting. The blocks of obsidian range from inches to many feet in linear dimension. The pines are stunted, like bonsai, so the landscape can seem oddly "big," visually. At over a square mile (~2.9 sq. km.), it is big, course, but the lack of visual references tends to make most fresh lava flows I've visited somewhat disorienting.

Photo unmodified. August 21, 2011. FlashEarth location.