Meatball, Ape Cave, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington

A lava rock known as the "meatball" hangs over the floor of the Ape Cave in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington state. The Ape Cave is a lava tube, formed during an eruption of Mount St. Helens 2,000 years ago. Lava cools from the outside-in, so the flow became like a straw, allowing lava to continue to flow through a hardened crust. The meatball once hung from the ceiling of the cave, but broke off while lava was still flowing through the tube. It traveled with the flow until it became wedged in a narrow passage.

Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download

Filename: WA_Ape-Cave_Meatball_5116.jpg
Copyright: Copyright 2021 Kevin Ebi/LivingWilderness.com. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5464x8192 / 18.9MB; https://www.livingwilderness.com/licensing-prints.htm; https://www.livingwilderness.com; Ape Cave Ape Caves Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument Mount St. Helens Mount Saint Helens Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot cave lava tube tube volcanic nature Washington WA Skamania County Skamania dark meatball narrow lava rock rock
Contained in galleries

A lava rock known as the "meatball" hangs over the floor of the Ape Cave in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington state. The Ape Cave is a lava tube, formed during an eruption of Mount St. Helens 2,000 years ago. Lava cools from the outside-in, so the flow became like a straw, allowing lava to continue to flow through a hardened crust. The meatball once hung from the ceiling of the cave, but broke off while lava was still flowing through the tube. It traveled with the flow until it became wedged in a narrow passage.