Haystack Rock the U.S. The tallest and probably best known Haystack Rock due to its proximity to Portland is in Tillamook County located off Pacific City and near Cape Kiwanda. It stands above the sea and is the fourth tallest sea stack or off-shore monolith in the world. Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach is accompanied by several smaller rocks known as The Needles. The other Oregon coastal Haystack Rock stands above sea level in Coos County near Bandon. Composed of basalt, Haystack Rock was formed by lava flows emanating from the Blue Mountains and Columbia basin about 15-16 million years ago. The
Lava is commonly shortened to "lava". Although lava can be up to 100,000 times more viscous than water, lava can flow great distances before cooling and solidifying because of its thixotropic and shear thinning properties. Explosive eruptions produce a mixture of volcanic ash and other fragments called tephra, rather than lava flows. The word "lava" comes from Italian, and is probably derived from the Latin word "labes" which means a fall or slide. The first use in connection with extruded magma (molten rock below the Earth's surface) was apparently in a short account written by Francesco Serao on the eruption of