Haleakala crater, Maui, Hawaii

View of the eastern side of Haleakala crater, East Maui, with clouds hovering over the Kaupo Gap, a stream-cut canyon, which descends the southeastern flank of the volcano to the southern coast of Maui. Haleakala (lit. *House of the Sun*) is one of Hawaii's youngest volcanoes (750,000 years) still considered active, having last erupted in 1790. The summit is 10,023 feet (3,000 meters) in elevation. The crater is 3000ft. deep, andcoves an area of 7.5 miles x 2.5 miles. Because of its barren terrain and "lunar landscape" American astronauts trained here prior to making their epic voyage to the moon. The hiking trail across the crater is 11 miles long and traverses some amazing scenery from the dry alpine zone at the summit past red, yellow and grey cinder cones, black lava flows, to lush rainforest and ferns of the windward eastern side of the volcano where annual rainfall is 250"/630cm. This image shows the sharp divide between the dry black lava of the crater floor and the wetter slopes that collect wind-b...