We report in-situ transmission electron microscopy studies of the formation of negative nanowires created by thermal decomposition of single crystal GaN. During annealing, vertical negative nanowires are formed in [0 0 0 1] by preferential dissociation of GaN along the (1 0 1 01 prism planes, while lateral negative nanowires grow in close-packed <1 0 <(1)over bar> 0> by the self-catalytic solid-liquid-vapor (SLV) mechanism. Our quantitative measurements show that the growth rates of the laterally grown negative nanowires are independent of the wire diameter, indicating that the rate-limiting step is the decomposition of GaN on the surface of the Ga droplets that catalyze their creation. These nanoscale features offer controllable templates for the creation and integration of a broad range of nanoscale materials systems, with potential applications in nanoscale fluidics. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.