[[Image:Tree_mold.jpg|thumb|300px|A tree mold glows several hours after pahoehoe lava surrounded a tree and burned its trunk until the tree fell onto the lava flow; the trunk is visible in upper right. The glow is from the hot lava below.]]Fluid basaltic [[lava]] may preserve the shapes of trees and other objects by solidifying around them. '''Tree molds''' are formed when lava surrounds a tree, chills against it, and then drains away. The standing structure left behind is often called a '''lava tree'''. | [[Image:Tree_mold.jpg|thumb|300px|A tree mold glows several hours after pahoehoe lava surrounded a tree and burned its trunk until the tree fell onto the lava flow; the trunk is visible in upper right. The glow is from the hot lava below.]]Fluid basaltic [[lava]] may preserve the shapes of trees and other objects by solidifying around them. '''Tree molds''' are formed when lava surrounds a tree, chills against it, and then drains away. The standing structure left behind is often called a '''lava tree'''. |