Lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has created a MILE of new land as scientists reveal they have KNOW IDEA when eruptions will end
Lava poured into coastal Hawaii neighbourhoods in just two days
It is believed to be the volcano’s most destructive episode in modern history
As the lava flowed toward the bay, it vaporised Hawaii’s largest freshwater lake
The mile of new land in Kapoho Bay is now owned by the state
Kilauea has been erupting for a month and has seen thousands evacuated
Lava from the volcano has destroyed 176 structures on Big Island
PHOEBE WESTON
DAILYMAIL.COM
8 June 2018
Lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has created nearly a mile of new land.
US Geological Survey officials said the flow, which has filled Kapoho Bay, is still active and there is no way of knowing when the eruption will end or if more lava-spewing vents will open.
The fast-moving lava poured into low-lying coastal Hawaii neighbourhoods in the space of just two days this week, destroying hundreds of homes.
The eruptions began early last month and is believed to be the volcano’s most destructive episode in modern history.
‘Lava continues to enter the ocean along a broad front in Kapoho Bay and the Vacationland area and it continues to creep north of what remains of Kapoho Beach Lots,’ said USGS geologist Janet Babb.
As the lava flowed toward the bay, it vaporised Hawaii’s largest freshwater lake, which was hundreds of feet deep in some places.
The new land in Kapoho Bay is now owned by the state, but the peninsula will not look like the farmland that dominates that region of the Big Island anytime soon.
Depending on climate, rainfall and other variables, new vegetation could start growing soon, but it will take much longer for the fertile land and lush rainforests to build back up.
‘How soon vegetation comes back on a lava flow really depends on the type of lava it is, and how much rainfall there is in the area,’ said Ms Babb.
‘There are flows on the Kona side of the island that are much older than some flows on east Hawaii, they are much older but they have far less vegetation and that’s just a reflection of the difference in rainfall.’
The Rest…HERE
