On the Island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands, there is lava so fresh it is still molten. Perfect specimens of a'a and pahoehoe lava is everywhere on the flanks of Kilauea, but it is very bad luck to take it with you. Other places on the island you can find peridotite (chunks of the Earth's mantle brought to the surface during explosive eruptions); obsidian deposits on Hualalai; and black and green sand beaches - the latter is entirely made from tiny crystals of olivine, the non-precious form of Peridot - August's Birthstone.

so how many types of lava are there?

Two types of surface lava flows: a'a which is clinkery and jagged on the surface while having a very dense hot core which can be many meters in thickness. This is the flow which mows down existing structures by the sheer force of its weight and momentum. It is is pasty in texture and relatively slow-moving. The second type of laval flow is pahoehoe which is much less vicsous,is flat or ropy when it solidifies, and can flow down a mountain in great volume and with considerable speed.

Other forms of lava are Ash,Pumice and Pele's Hair. Ash looks like fine gray grit and is ejected during explosive eruptions - such as Mt St Helens' recent eruption. Pumice resembles a molasses sponge which is glassy and crumbly here, but on other volcanoes can be gray. It is light with a lot of air mixed into it, and it often floats on the water. Pele's hair forms during episodes of high fountaining. Our lavas are silica-rich, so these are like spun glass and again the color of m lasses. It can be carried long distances on the wind. You do not want to be in the fallout zone with this stuff. When it gets down your neck it is most unpleasant. I can vouch for that! (Pele is the Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcanoes.

Wolf set up a Rock Collecting Topic in the Collecting Conference for me. We will continue it here, but that is a good place to start. Please check it out, and check the rest of her other topics, as well. http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/collecting/41

I had no idea about all these kinds of lava. Mine is not a volcanic country, except for the Azores islands. My knowledge of eruptions is better related to the Ancient History - Pompeii and Herculanaeum, which I have visited. I don't usually collect things, much less rocks, but found some very pretty stones on a beach in Cyprus and brought some back home. They look better wet than dry. They are all different, and I'm sure some contain iron, because I built an artificial aquarium around them, with glass fish, and there is rust at the bottom!

that sounds way cool gi!

Nice effect, Gi. If you want them in a dish and looking wet, dilute colorless nail polish and coat them. They will look wet without the fake shiny look that spray acryllic gives, and it might seal in the iron.

Can I do that and still put them in the water?

Sure! To insure they do not peel, wash them in detergent to remove any oils and be sure they are thoroughly dry before coating. Thin the polish with oil-less thinner or remover.

hi

Aloha Bernice...are you new here? Welcome, if that is so, and stay a while.

yes, please!

yes, hi bernice!

One really good place to rockhound (where you can go and what you find there)is a museum. If you are new to the area in which you will be hunting for specimens, visit the local museum and look at their collection. Note the textures and note the names. They might even have a little booklet you can obtain for a small price. Pictures to follow of just such a trip...

Ok, Mike...You need a piece of Peridotite? I can send you a chunk and some lava bombs - all from Mauna Kea - or anything else Hawaii-igneous. I am rather hesitant to send you anything from Kilauea or Mauna Loa. They are active and I worry about sending you bad luck.(Yes, I am a scientist first, but I have a box of rocks which was recently shipped to me from Canada from someone who took them home and had appalling luck "as a result." I figure...just in case...it is better to err on the side of caution!) You cannot believe how delighted I am that you finally found your way here. It is the middle of the night for you and I cannot wait for you to wake up and boot that computer!

Looks like I'd better get out David's specimen pix and post them...as I promised to do in November!

that box of bad luck lava wasn't from this guy we saw on tv who took some as a souvenir? (can't remember anything about him or where he's from). he said everything went on the fritz after he took that stuff. as soon as he sent it back, his luck changed back to good. *amazing*

I have a box from Canada which we will take to the volcano...the person who collected it had a terrible time....Hope she is doing better. Anne Hale knows of another person who took some and has had appalling thing happen - but he did not know about the curse. Ignorance of the law not being an adequate excuse extends far beyond the legal system! Notice, Mike did not take me up on my offer?!

Not that I know of, the sender has not been on tv, but it happens a lot. The park gets dozens of return boxes during the year!

haha! they should put them on display to show how many people didn't believe the curse and found out the hard way! maybe it could prevent future lava removal!

They do, actually, and sample letters which outdo all soap opera stories. Incredible - they think just the other guy is superstitious! Until ill befalls them...!

Funny thing is, David has my obsidian collection from all over the world including some from the Urals. Nothing bad has happened to him, but he also has not one bit of Hawaiian Lava in his collection! Core drillings from the coral reefs, but, no igneous rock!