Lava

Deep, deep under the ground, where the Earth is warm and gooey like melted candy, I wait. It feels like I’m sleeping in a giant, cozy pot of soup. But then, something starts to shake. I feel a rumble and a grumble that tickles me all over! The ground pushes me up, up, up through a tall, pointy mountain. It’s like being squeezed through a giant toothpaste tube. Suddenly, I burst out into the cool air with a great big WHOOSH! I am a glowing, super-hot river of orange, yellow, and red rock. I flow slowly across the land, but I am super strong, changing everything I touch. I can build new mountains and even make brand new islands pop up in the middle of the sea. What do you think I am?

You guessed it! I am Lava! For thousands of years, people have watched me with big, wide eyes, feeling both amazed and a little scared. A very long time ago, people living in ancient Rome saw me burst from a huge volcano called Mount Vesuvius. That was in the year 79 CE. I erupted with so much power that I flowed all over and buried a whole town called Pompeii under a thick, rocky blanket. The Romans didn't have a word for me yet. They thought I was the work of their powerful fire god, Vulcan, who they believed had a workshop inside the volcano. For a very, very long time, I didn't have my own special name. Then, one day on May 14th, 1737, a scientist in Italy named Francesco Serao was watching me flow from that very same volcano. He decided to give me a name. He called me 'lava,' which is an old word that means 'to slide.' The name was perfect because that’s just what I do! In other parts of the world, like the beautiful islands of Hawaii, people gave me different names depending on how I look. When I'm smooth and ropy, like thick honey, they call me 'pāhoehoe.' But when I'm rough and chunky and sharp, I'm called 'ʻaʻā.' It’s fun having so many names!

I know I can seem a little scary with all my heat and my earth-shaking power. But I am also a creator, a builder of new worlds! After I flow all over the place, I start to cool down. I get hard and turn into solid black rock, making brand new land where there was once only ocean. The beautiful Hawaiian Islands, with their sandy beaches and tall green mountains, were all built by me over millions and millions of years! I create new ground for tall trees to grow and for birds and animals to make their homes. My rock also breaks down over a long, long time into tiny pieces. This makes wonderful, rich soil that helps farmers grow delicious fruits and vegetables. I am a part of the Earth's amazing power to change and grow. I show everyone that even from something hot and powerful, something new and wonderful can be born.