Lava meets the sea, puts on fire-spitting show in Hawaii
19 Aug 2016 10:56 AM IST19 Aug 2016 10:56 AM IST
Most of Kilauea's activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton rocks into the sky and left a man dead.
For the first time in three years, lava from a volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has crept down miles of mountainside and is dripping into the Pacific Ocean, where it's creating new land and putting on a crackling, hissing, fire-spitting show.- According to the US Geological Survey, the Puu Oo vent alone has created about 500 acres of new land since it began erupting a few decades ago.
- The park has seen an increase of about 1,000 to 1,500 visitors per day since the current lava flow reached the sea in late July, boosting attendance to about 6,000 people daily, officials said.
- On August 9, a second branch of lava started to spill into the sea, giving Turpin's passengers a look at two lava flows about 200 yards apart.
- Reaching the latest flow requires a boat, a helicopter or strong legs, the hike to the entry point, where the lava meets the sea, is 10 miles roundtrip on a gravel road surrounded by miles of treacherous, hard lava rock.
- The 2,000-degree molten rock is from Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes. Its Puu Oo vent began erupting in the 1980s and periodically pushes enough lava seaward that people can access it.
- The billowy, bright-orange lava pops and sizzles, and reeks of sulfur and scorched earth, as it oozes across rugged terrain and eventually off a steep seaside cliff. When the hot rocks hit the water, they expel plumes of steam and gas - and sometimes explode, hurling chunks of searing debris.
- Thousands of visitors from around the world have swarmed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park by land, sea and air to take in the spectacle.
For the first time in three years, lava from a volcano on Hawaii\'s Big Island has crept down miles of mountainside and is dripping into the Pacific Ocean, where it\'s creating new land and putting on a crackling, hissing, fire-spitting show.
Most of Kilauea's activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton rocks into the sky and left a man dead.
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