Fallen Volcanic Shelf Exposes Lava River

December 02,2005 | HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii -- About 44 acres of coastline collapsed into the ocean this week, setting loose a glowing stream of lava that shot out from the newly exposed cliffside 45 feet above the water.

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"The cliff just caved away like a glacier," said park spokesman Jim Gale. "It just sheared off that old wall. There's this gigantic steam plume and you see the red just falling down -- an incredible fire hose display."

The collapse sent out globs of lava and head-size boulders. Sheets of volcanic glass called limu o Pele, after the Hawaiian goddess of fire, and thin strands of volcanic glass known as Pele's hair were found 1,800 feet inland.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8E8AIUO1.html

I was at Volcanoes National Park in 1983 exactly a week before the big eruption then, and the volcanic activity has been going ever since. The new developments are utterly amazing! It's nature at its best.

Lava is one of my favorite things. It's so amazing. I walked out to the flows a couple of years ago in the middle of the night with my son...it was the experience of a lifetime. Wish I could be there to see this eruption.

More pics here:

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/#images