Mount Kīlauea Tephra - Breath of the Fire Goddess

From one of the most violent processes on Earth comes one of the lightest natural minerals in existence… The term “tephra” describes any fragment of rock ejected from a volcano during a violent eruption, from tiny particles of ash to dangerous lava bombs. In between these extremes, one finds the most ethereal forms of rock. Molten lava stretched as fine as strands of hair, tear-like pools of jet black volcanic glass, and fragile latticeworks formed in an instant as vigorous lava fountains exhale under immense pressure. Above: Early morning view of Fissure 8. Lava roils and pours out of the spatter cone into the open channel on June 28th, 2018 (Source: USGS)   This specimen is a product of the violent 2018 lower Puna eruption in the East Rift Zone of Mount Kīlauea in Hawaiʻi. The eruption began on May 3, 2018, with the collapse of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruptive vent. As the summit of Mount Kīlauea deflated, more than 1 billion cubic yards of red hot lava rushed into the East Rift Zone, one o