Hawaii's spectacular volcano eruption

When one of the world's most active volcanoes rumbles, lava rockets several stories into the air

The grounds of the Hawaii's volcanoes national park are covered in molten lava after the Kilauea volcano erupts nearby.
(Image credit: Screen shot, guardian.co.uk)

The video: The collapse of a crater on Kilauea, a volcano on Hawaii's big island, has sent lava shooting up to 65 feet in the air. (See video below.) Unlike most volcanoes, Kilauea does not have a traditional cone-shaped top; instead, it stretches out over a broad area and, on Saturday, scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory observed that the crater's collapse had opened up a fissure two miles away, near the volcano's eastern ridge. No people or homes are in any immediate danger. Kilauea has been in a constant state of low-level eruption since January 3, 1983, and may be the world's most active volcano. Still, dramatic eruptions like this one remain rare.

The reaction: This is so exciting, especially since we've been able to watch it from the start, volcanologist Janet Babb told a Hawaiian radio station, as quoted by CBS News. "Mother Nature really is the greatest reality star of all," says Brian Moylan at Gawker. Watch the stunning video:

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