STANDARDS

CCSS: 7.G.B.4

TEKS: 7.9B, 7.5B

Made by Lava

USGS/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Jim McMahon/Mapman

This summer, the island of Hawaii grew by at least 120 acres. In May, the volcano Kilauea began spewing lava during a new eruption. Slow-moving rivers of lava have since seeped out of cracks in the volcano’s side. The lava has destroyed more than 700 houses on its 25-mile trip downhill to the ocean.

 Much of the lava spilled into the sea, adding to the island’s coastline. But some of the magma flowed underground. (Molten rock is called lava after it reaches the Earth’s surface.) The magma flowed under the seafloor. Then it burst through the seafloor in late July and piled up to create a tiny island. But as the lava piled up, it became connected to the main island and is now a peninsula!

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