Living in the Yakima Valley, we hardly give basalt a second thought, even though it’s all around us. Three of Yakima’s churches are either built of it, or use it in their foundations. There are pieces ...

The Palisades cliffs west of New York City rear up from the Hudson River like the spine of some ancient beast—and that impression is not far off. Their basalt backbone is a remnant of an immense lava ...

Have you ever stood on land born from fire? In New Mexico’s Valley of Fires, ancient lava sprawls across the desert, twisted, black, and echoing the fury that once tore through the earth. This vast ...