Abiqua Falls in Oregon is a beautiful example of a basalt column amphitheater. Over 90 percent of all volcanic rock is basalt, but only a small fraction of it forms into the hexagonal columns that you see here. When molten lava hits the atmosphere, rapid cooling causes it to contract into these characteristic columns. It"s just part of what makes Abiqua Falls so spectacular.
Midwinter freeze
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Coming home to roost
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Over and under the delta
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Travel Sunday: Liverpool
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National Lighthouse Day
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Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires
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Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
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Autumn in Alaska
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Art over Amalfi
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Storks ready for takeoff
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International Day of Color
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A wassailing we go
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From pirate port to nature preserve
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Celebrating Flag Day
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Giants of the avian world
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International Day of the Tropics
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Hispanic Heritage Month
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A truly American monument
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Snow buntings take flight
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Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
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The story of the poinsettia
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Arrr! Can you talk like a pirate?
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Winnie-the-Pooh Day
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Where the bearded reedling sings
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You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
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Celebrating the International Day of Forests
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Corjuem Fort in Goa, India
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Lick Observatory
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Pearl of the Adriatic
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Mysterious prairie mounds abound
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Cecropia leaf and lobster claw petals in Mexico