Hang onto that property , Hawaiians : in a few hundred age , there ’s a chance your slice of promised land will be slenderly declamatory . Geologically speaking , Hawaii is still growing tight , thanks to frequent eruptions from volcanoes like Kilauea , which was caught disgorge its molten sand into the ocean last calendar week .
Located on the southeastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii , Kilauea is a shield vent that issue from the sea more than 50,000 years ago and is now consider one of the most active volcanoes on Earth . Since 1983 , the Puʻu ʻŌʻō splatter strobilus in Kilauea ’s easterly rift geographical zone has been catch fire endlessly , splashing molten rock down its flank and trance visitors .
Recently , something unusual happened at Puʻu ʻŌʻō : a new release openedin the volcanic crater ’s eastern flank , sending lava down the southern side of Kilauea and out to sea for the first fourth dimension since 2013 . It took several week , but lava stream 61Gfinally turn over the ocean on the dayspring of July 26th . Photographer Warren Fintz was lucky enough to be in the country and watch the remarkable event on camera .
The mix of liquefied rock and brine helps establish Modern earth . “ Lava pour into the ocean from either surface flows or lava tubes cools rapidly , usually shattering into gumption to blocking - size fragments , ” theUSGS explain . “These fragments accumulate along the submarine slope to work a loose foundation that will eventually support superimposed lava flows that build the delta above ocean level . ”
Individual lava deltas from Kilauea ’s past bam have been known to addhundreds of acresto Hawaii ’s shorelines .
consort to the USGS , lava flow 61 G ’s ocean entry already traverse 240 m ( 787 ft ) . The area remains very active , and visitors are apprise to exercise caution . As you might reckon , the interaction between lava and water system tends to be exceedingly fickle .
But no sweat if you ca n’t trek out to Hawaii to see the land - construction process in action . The Hawaii Volcano Observatory is post photograph of ongoing sea lava oozehere , and you may keep up with the eruption at Kilauea via severalwebcams .
[ National GeographicviaMotherboard ]
Geologygeoscienceskilauea
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