Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is continuing to erupt, with lava gushing throughout a swath of Hawaii's Big Island and pouring into the Pacific Ocean.

The volcano – which has been slowly and continuously erupting for decades – entered a new, more violent eruption phase in May.

Thousands of local residents were forced to evacuate following a series of explosions, and hundreds of homes, offices, and other structures have been damaged around the Big Island.

Beyond the immediate fire danger from the lava, high levels of sulphur dioxide spewing from the volcano pose a serious threat to children, elderly people, and people with respiratory issues.

The ongoing eruptions have severely impacted Hawaii's tourism-driven economy and are transforming large swaths of the Big Island's normally lush landscape.

But despite the dangers of the volcanic eruption, the disaster can also be savagely beautiful at times – and something of a cornucopia for geologists and volcanologists to study.

A video posted Thursday on Twitter by Mileka Lincoln, a Hawaii News Now reporter, shows a rare phenomenon that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is calling it a 'lava boat.'

In the video, a fast-moving river of lava breaks off a massive chunk of rock, which then floats down the lava river before it gets broken apart.

Check out the video below – the rock breaks about 40 seconds in.

#LeilaniEstatesEruption #KilaueaVolcano LATEST: #IkaikaMarzo captures the phenomena that USGS has named a "lava boat". Watch as it makes its way down the #Fissure8 lava river in Kapoho and then breaks apart ? https://t.co/66DxdlXUzZ @HawaiiNewsNow #HINews pic.twitter.com/bAQK1uYyJh — Mileka Lincoln (@MilekaLincoln) June 28, 2018

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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