Lava flows straight down a mountain. Visitors watch in amazement. They listen to the falling lava’s sounds: Drip. Sizzle. Boom!

For the first time in three years, a river of lava has overflowed and crept all the way down Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. Now it drips into the Pacific Ocean. Do you know what happens next? New land appears—and visitors get to watch it happen!

Thousands of people from around the world are swarming to see Kilauea’s lava falls. Some observe the volcano from helicopters overhead. Others float in boats near the dripping lava. Some people walk to the entry point where the lava meets the sea. But that trip takes strong legs and serious courage. The journey is five miles each way. Walkers must travel along a gravel road near steep cliff edges. Glass-sharp lava rock surrounds them. As they get closer to the entry point, they can even feel the lava’s heat through the bottoms of their shoes.

Lava is melted rock. It is 2,000 degrees hot. Can you imagine what it would be like to stand close to lava as it strikes the ocean? Visitors say they hear the bright-orange lava hissing and crackling. They smell sulfur and burning soil. As the hot lava lands, clouds of steam and gas fly up from the water. Sometimes, rocks even explode. Dangerous debris flies through the air.

Mount Kilauea is one of the most active volcanos in the world. It started erupting over 30 years ago. It hasn’t stopped since! But people can’t usually see the lava dripping down to the sea. Lava drop by lava drop, they are watching Hawaii grow. As the lava reaches the water, new land appears in just moments. Since May, this lava flow has already created about eight acres of new land!