Photograph by W.W. Chadwick in January 1983. Lava coil on pahoehoe flow, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i.
Photograph by W.W. Chadwick in January 1983. Lava coil on pahoehoe flow, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i.
Lava coils are spiral or scroll-shaped features that form along slow-moving shear zones in a flow; for example, along the margins of a small channel. The direction of flow can be determined from a lava coil. Lava on the right side of the photo was moving toward the top of the view relative to lava on the left side.