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Lava Explosion Triggered By Collapse Of Hawaiian Volcano Wall

Stephen Luntz

Freelance Writer

77 Lava Explosion Triggered By Collapse Of Hawaiian Volcano Wall — USGS. This is what happens to a lake full of lava when part of the wall falls in.

Part of the wall of the Halemau'uma'u crater of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, collapsed on Sunday, setting off the explosion seen here and making lava waves.

Compared to the footage recently seen from Calbuco, including this film taken with exceptional timing, this doesn't seem that big a deal. But that is partly because our eyes are fooled to the scale.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says, “For scale, look at the left side 3/4's up from the bottom and you will see a tiny white thing. It's a 5' [1.5m] tall USGS camera. It sits right at the rim of the crater where the public viewing area use to be.”

Some of the boulders falling around the rim are “the size of bowling balls and even ovens” the USGS says, noting that the lava lake is 520 feet (160 m) by 690 feet (210 m).