Panoramic View of Ponderosa in Kipuka

Kipukas - Forest Islands in a Sea of Lava

One of the more interesting geologic features of Central Oregon are kipukas (meaning “a variation or change in form” in the Hawaiian language). These are islands where lava has surrounded patches of older terrain, isolating them from the surrounding landscape. It’s hard to imagine a more dramatic contrast between the dry, rocky, barren fields of lava surrounding the relatively moist, shady islands of forest.
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