Bright-yellow hilltops look over a line of volcanic “neck” remnants that stand, towering above the reddish desert floor of Mussentuchit Flat. These are the remains of a line of small volcanic eruptions. Buried under the ground for eons, erosion has exposed these towering black volcanic “necks” or “throats”.

Volcanic plugs also called a volcanic neck or lava neck are created when magma hardens inside a vent on an active volcano. This then causes an extreme build-up of pressure when expanding volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. For the full story on this image visit the corresponding page on Where Eagles Fly