How can an island be growing in lava lake atop Hawaii volcano? Scientists have ideas

[TexasTowelie]

One of the most intensely watched elements of the ongoing eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is an island that mysteriously formed early on in the crater’s fiery lava lake.

It’s about seven acres in size and drifting like a raft.

The U.S. Geological Survey has been monitoring this deadly oasis since the start of the eruption on Dec. 20, noting its growth and mystifying movements. On Thursday, the island measured 820 feet long and 440 feet wide and stood about 26 feet above the lava lake’s surface, officials wrote on Facebook.

This defies logic for most people, who understand molten lava to be something that melts, well, just about everything.

And that’s not wrong. The USGS says the magma still squirting from a fissure in Kilauea’s crater wall is somewhere between 1,830 and 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Read more and view video: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article248206265.html