The Nation : Lava Adds Land to Hawaii

The island of Hawaii grew as a seven-mile river of molten rock streamed down to the Pacific, turning the water to steam and cooling into nearly an acre of new land, which will belong to the state. The flow of lava from Kilauea Volcano continued with no sign it would be ending any time soon, said Tom Wright, a geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Civil Defense officials opened roadblocks to allow sightseers to approach the cooling waist-high flow and about 2,000 people walked through heavy rain and strong wind to witness the geological process. “It’s amazing, it’s fantastic, it must be what creation is like,” said Rita Finchum of Tucson.