Hello, my question is about a certain volcano on one of the islands of Hawaii
I seen on a T.V. program. It was shooting a stream molten lava out of the side
of a cliff into the ocean. I would like to know which island it was on and the
name of it, if it
has one. Furthermore, is this type of volcanic eruption common? If so, when,
where and how? Thank you.
Cindee Wilson
Dear Cindee,
That footage you are referring to was part of the ongoing eruption of
Kilauea volcano. The eruption has involved the flow of lava in 'lava
tubes' since 1986. Lava tubes form naturally within a pahoehoe lava flow
when the surface solidifies while the interior continues to flow. The
lava flow has made it into the ocean and is building a lava delta,
extending the coastline. Every once in a while the lava delta collapses
into the ocean. This effectively 'chops off' the tube back upstream a
little. Once in a while this will produce a spouting tube like you saw on
TV. It is a pretty spectacular sight indeed!
Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii
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