THE VOLCANOES OF RAPA NUI

This will be one of the easiest blog posts to write. No phrases will be written such as “it's the most beautiful place in the world” or the man/child thing of “ever since 1965 I've wanted to see a volcano”. No, none of that! Lucky for you!! In New Zealand we did see volcanoes but they were more like conical shaped hills. Here, on Rapa Nui, were ones with a crater rim you had to climb to and an interior flat surface. Both of these were filled with rainwater over the millennium and became crater lakes.

A quick geography lesson. Rapa Nui was formed thousands, maybe millions of years ago (I don't know, I took a really nice nap inside the Museo de Archeologico) by the eruption of three volcanoes. Take a look at a map of Rapa Nui – Google it - you will see it is in the shape of a triangle. These eventually settled together into the current landscape of this beautiful island.

Enjoy the pics


Rano Kau


Ranu Kau volcanic outcrop


Ranu Kau caldera wall - worn away by the Pacific Ocean's waves


Wild grasses atop crater rim - looks somewhat like Scotland


Lake formed at bottom of Rano Raraku


Entering Rano Raraku - possibly iron in soil


Lake at bottom of Ranu Raraku - rained later that day


Rano Raraku - Moai manufacturing facility