Here are some terrifying yet mesmerizing images and videos from Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It is nature and Mother Earth’s fire, fury and majesty on display. Even as She destroys everything in her path, let’s nor forget that the very existence of Hawaii and life around it depends on the volcanoes and the hot mantle plumes that emanate from the molten interior of our Earth. From death and destruction, new life shall arise, as it has done for billions of years.
Amazing sight of Blue flames rising from the ashes —
Volcanoes and Culture
A still -- Volcano -- Life -- by Emily Dickinson
A still -- Volcano -- Life --
That flickered in the night --
When it was dark enough to do
Without erasing sight --
A quiet -- Earthquake Style --
Too subtle to suspect
By natures this side Naples --
The North cannot detect
The Solemn -- Torrid -- Symbol --
The lips that never lie --
Whose hissing Corals part -- and shut --
And Cities -- ooze away --
A Quick Science Lesson
The geology of Hawaii is based on relatively young volcanoes. Kilauea sits right on top of the volcanic hot spot, which has been responsible for the creation of the island chain over the past few millions years, as the under-water pacific plate has slid northwards over it.
It is also a reminder that the interior of earth is not a cold and placid place, but a fiery inferno. It is this very hot molten core that enables life on Earth; without it, there would be no magnetic field to protect us from the ravaging onslaught of solar radiation, which would strip atoms and molecules off their electrons, blow our fragile atmosphere away and make it impossible for life to take hold.
Epilogue
And so this process of death and rebirth, destruction and creation of land and life will continue, far into the future. Nature has not stopped in its ways, just because Man claims to have conquered it.