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This is a view of the Pacific as seen from space- |
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a vast expanse of water that covers almost a third of the Earth’s surface. |
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Today, only 1% of this vast ocean is land, |
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and much of it owes its existence to the explosive powers of volcanoes like Kavachi. |
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1,500 miles north of the equator, |
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perhaps the most famous group of volcanic islands in the world - |
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Hawaii, still one of the most volcanically active areas on Earth. |
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And this is Kilauea. Like all volcanoes, it’s plumbed into the very heart of the Earth - home to a lot of hot, angry rock. |
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Rising from 60 mile below the ocean’s floor, |
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this lava has flowed nonstop for 25 years. |
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On the lower slopes, the lava travels at less than 100 meters an hour, |
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betraying little of its awesome power. |
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Nothing can survive this smouldering blanket. |
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As the crust cools, it is lifted by the lava still flowing beneath it. |
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The advance is relentless and unpredictable, changing direction without notice. |
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Roads here are regularly swept away and some are now buried under 35 meters of rock. |
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In the last 20 years, more than 200 homes have been destroyed by Kilauea’s flow. |
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And it doesn’t stop here. |
