http://azstarnet.com/news/science/asu-grad-student-spies-odd-lava-spirals-near-martian-equator/article_87957678-e676-5c8e-9486-d7fbe0d2c1db.html

Science surprise of the day: read this morning that lava coils/spirals have been discovered on Mars near the equator. The Arizona Daily Star article (above) says they look similar to lava coils in Hawaii. The Martian ones are apparently 16 to 100 feet across.

I grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii (which has the only live volcanoes in the State of Hawaii) and have seen numerous eruptions of both a’a (chunky) and pahoehoe (smooth, river-like) lava flows. I’ve noticed some coils but not quite like that or that many as shown in the aerial photo, which accompanies that Star article.

Next time I’m back home on Hawaii Island, it will definitely be worth a trip to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to take another look. All national parks and monuments are free this week (National Park Week) till April 29 (click here).

Update: Here’s the original article in Science Journal (click here), entitled:

“Coils and Polygonal Crust in the Athabasca Valles Region, Mars, as Evidence for a Volcanic History” by Andrew J. Ryan and Philip R. Christensen.

Photos of Martian (and Hawaiian) lava coils published separately:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2012/04/27/photos-of-martian-and-hawaiian-lava-coils/

KUAT Channel 6 AZ Illustrated had an interview tonight to promote National Park Week, when all 379 national parks & monuments in the U.S. are free. Click here for the show.

This is a great opportunity to take yourself and/or your kids to these parks/monuments in Southern Arizona:

Saguaro National Park East, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ
Saguaro National Park West, 2700 N. Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, in Coolidge, AZ
Tumacacori National Historical Park, 1891 N. Frontage Road, Tumacacori, AZ
Chiricahua National Monument, near Wilcox, AZ
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (four miles west of Why, AZ)

I’ve been to all of these national parks and have enjoyed the amazing wonders of nature, and the historic settlements by Native Americans and Spanish settlers.

And if you’re reading this from outside of Southern Arizona, or Arizona, go online to the National Park Service webpage & click on a state to locate other parks. You can locate a national park by clicking on the map of all the states, or by name, location, activity, or topic. Arizona alone has 22 national parks, with the Grand Canyon National Park being one of the most well-known.