Pillow lavas (or lava pillows) form when lava is erupted into cold seawater: the outer layer hardens rapidly, and the molten rock is forced to start new pillows instead of becoming a steady flow. These pillow lavas range in age from the present to about 450 million years ago, a vivid instance of the old saying that in geology, the present is the key to the past. Learn more about pillow lavas here.
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 Fresh Pillow Lavas |  Miocene Pillow Lavas |  Cretaceous Pillow Lava |  Metamorphosed Lava Pillows |
 Triassic Pillow Lava |  Ordovician Pillow Lava |  Broken Lava Pillow |  Lava Pillow Cross Section, Stark's Knob, New York |
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