Hawaii's Big Island is a world of contrasts. There's lush rainforest, windswept desert, and an active volvanco that has been spewing lava for hundreds of thousands of years. When the lava hardens it turns to ragged, forbidding rock. Vast areas resemble the Land of Mordor. Vegetation, ever optimistic, works hard at finding a foothold amidst the desolation, but the battle to turn these areas green again will continue for decades, perhaps centuries.I took this shot from a moving vehicle - thus the blur in the foreground. At wallpaper size, the image is quite haunting. It reminds me how puny humans are compared to certain forces of nature. When the volcano begins spewing molten lava from a new direction there's not a thing we homo sapiens can do about it - other than get out of the way.
Download wallpaper versions of this image here:
http://www.TripodGirl.com/2009_2/lava.php
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