Dawn lava meets ocean near San Cristobal

Deep shadow swallows the rugged shoreline where black lava rock meets the churning Pacific. First light of dawn cuts a sharp, pale rim along the jagged edges of the cooled flow, highlighting the rough, vesicular texture of the stone against the dark water. Pale morning mist rises where the heat of the earth meets the cold sea. Early autumn leaves, sparse and brown, rest on the wind-sculpted crevices of the volcanic rock. The ocean surface churns with white foam, whipped by a strong breeze that bends the low vegetation. One wave crashes against the base of the black cliff, sending a spray of water into the air. at the edge is a streak of white foam clinging to the wet, obsidian surface.