Have Fun in the Sun at Haleakalā National Park’s Solar Festival

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service on March 10. It is reproduced in full below.

Lets check out some of the strange shaped rocks you might see in the park.

This type of lava is in a formation called columnar jointing, sometimes called columnar basalt. About 90% of lava rock on earth is made of basalt. This type of lava rock is found all over the Columbia Plateau, especially at the edges of large canyons.

Many other places around the world have this type of lava rock. In fact, two National Monuments are famous for their columnar basalt: Devil's Tower and Devil's Postpile. The Giant's Causeway in Ireland is also a great example. These types of columns have even been found on Mars!

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service