Many of the lavas erupted from Hawaiian volcanoes flowed into dense rain forest consisting mostly of ohia trees. After rapidly engulfing the trunk of this tree, pahoehoe lava set it on fire, incinerating the wood, while itself chilling solid around the outside. Soon after, the bulk of the flow drained away again, leaving a tall pipe-like 'chimney' of chilled basalt 1.5 m high marking the site where the tree once grew. An imprint of the pattern of the bark can often be seen on the inner wall of the mold. 'Lava tree forests' are known in many other parts of the world. (Fig. 7.18).

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