Lava Delta Collapses into Sea

Lava deltas are fan-shaped patches of new land that form along coasts when lava flows directly into the ocean. When they are built on steep marine slopes, they can easily collapse. Around 2:45 p.m. local time on December 31, 2016, unstable volcanic terrain began to tumble into the sea at Kamokuna, an area where lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano pours into the sea.