Lava tree

The Lava Cast Forest area includes cinder cones and various lava flows, with the youngest flow at 6,000 years old.[4] It created casts of tree trunks when lava flowed around the trees creating molds.[5] The molds can be vertical or horizontal, with some horizontal casts being up to 50 to 60 feet long.[1] The molds were created when hot lava came into contact with trees, chilling the lava and created a protective covering, or mold.[1] The trees then burnt completely out leaving a hollow interior.[1] In some of the molds, the imprint of tree bark can be seen.[1] Even ancient charcoal are still in some of the molds, and rings of annual tree growth can be seen in some.[1] Originally, lumber company employees thought the molds were lava gas blowouts, until Walter J. Perry discovered the imprints of lava bark.[1] Lava "drippings" found in the molds were created in freshly formed molds where lava dripped into the interior cavity.[1]


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_Cast_Forest