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Lichen on Slate
Photograph by Sylvia Sharnoff
Slate yields to brilliant lichens in Merced Falls, California.
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Ertale Lava Lake
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Lava bubbles and oozes inside a lava lake in Ethiopia’s Ertale volcano. Molten surface temperatures range from 550 degrees Fahrenheit (288 degrees Celsius) to nearly 1000 degrees Fahrenheit (540 degrees Celsius) at the center of the pit.
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Coyote Buttes Sandstone
Photograph by Frans Lanting
Striated sandstone lines the slopes of Coyote Buttes in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona.
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Crystal Patterns
Photograph by David Boyer
Concentric rings of color decorate a crystal found in Albany, Oregon.
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Erupting Cone
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Lava spews from a newly formed cone on Italy’s Mount Etna during a 2002 eruption. The ancient name Etna may mean "burning"—it's easy to see why the mountain earned that name.
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Rope Lava, Hawaii
Photograph by Frans Lanting
Pahoehoe lava darkens into ropy strands in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
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Rock Swirls
Photograph by Cary Wolinsky
Lines reverberate in ever widening swirls from a rock in Moab, Utah.
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Painted Hills
Photograph by Sylvia Sharnoff
Minerals streak the hills of Oregon's Painted Hills State Park.
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Molten Lava, Etna
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Red, molten lava glows on Mount Etna. At nearly 11,000 feet (3,400 meters) tall, the Italian peak is Europe's highest active volcano.
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Coyote Buttes, Arizona
Photograph by Frans Lanting
Patterned sandstone creates an optical illusion in the Wave rock formation, part of Coyote Buttes in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona.
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Spreading Pahoehoe Lava
Photograph by Marc Moritsch
Pahoehoe lava, the hottest Hawaiian lava type, may darken into ropy strands or wrinkle into silver-sheened taffy, such as this flow in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
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Patterned Rock
Photograph by Charles Kogod
Erosion reveals swirls of color and pattern in rocks in Point Lobos State Reserve, California.
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Cooled Lava
Photograph by Marc Moritsch
Cooled pahoehoe Hawaiian lava solidifies into igneous rock with a ropelike pattern. Another type of Hawaiian lava, called aa, is a creeping slag that hardens into brutally jagged pieces.
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Rocks, California
Photograph by Charles Kogod
Eroded rocks pop with colorful designs in Point Lobos State Reserve, California.
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Petra Sandstone
Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt
Crimson striations run through a sandstone rock face in Petra in Jordan.
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Swirls of Lava, Hawaii
Photograph by Frans Lanting
Flowing lava in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park creates vivid swirls in this close-up shot. 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.
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Boiling Lava, Etna
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Lava bubbles and boils during a spectacular 2002 eruption of Italy's Mount Etna. For 24 days, the volcano gave its most dazzling show in a decade, spewing rivers of lava and fountains of fire.
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Mauna Ulu Vent
Photograph by Robert Madden
A fountain of lava erupts from the Mauna Ulu vent in Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. Of the state's four active above-water volcanoes, only Kilauea and Mauna Loa have spit lava in the past 200 years.
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