At the Edge of Rano Kau Rapa Nui
by Heidi Fickinger
Title
At the Edge of Rano Kau Rapa Nui
Artist
Heidi Fickinger
Medium
Photograph - Photographic Print
Description
Rano Kau is the largest of the extinct volcanic craters that formed Rapa Nui. Rano Kau is on the farthest southwestern end of the Island. The lava from this volcano is basaltic, with eruptions beginning about 2.5 million years ago.
Today the interior steep walls of the crater form an almost perfect circle and are covered in beautiful green foliage, accentuated by the dark gray to black lava outcroppings. The outer walls of the crater facing the ocean have eroded to form nearly vertical walls that drop over 300 meters to the sea. In this area a huge gap where lava spilled into the sea. The continuous assault of the ocean waves against the crater wall eventually allowed ocean water to enter the crater. This area is known as Kari Kari.
The word Rano is used to describe the volcanoes inside which water is stored, as is the case with Rano Raraku or Rano Aroi. The word Kau has several meanings such as “abundance of water” and “large, broad”. So the meaning of Rano Kau could be “a large or wide volcano with a lot of water”, an absolutely correct expression to describe this amazing phenomenon of nature.
Featured in the following FAA Group Galleries:
* Nikon Full Frame Cameras
* H D R Photography
* Beautiful, Picturesque Landscapes
* The Global Art Reference
* Arts Fantastic World
* SkyTwitter Art Gallery
* On the Edge
* HDR Photography
Uploaded
March 20th, 2019
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