
The eruptions of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano have rained tiny green gems known as olivines onto the island's streets and beaches.

The minerals are found in volcanic rocks and land around Hawaii.

They have always been there but have been dislodged by the recent eruptions and are coming shooting down on resident as a result.

Some have collected the minerals from beaches and streets since they were spurted out and say it is proof of the wonders of nature.

Residents in Hawaii are finding small green minerals known as olivines in the streets and on the beach. The tiny gems exist in the volcanic rocks around the island and are being dislodged by the eruption. Above, some photographs taken by locals who gathered them this week as the eruption entered its fifth week

Olivines are a magnesium iron silicate. A handful that was gathered on the Big Island this week is pictured

A blurry image of a large, paler olivine found in Hawaii this week

Olivines are used to make the birthstone peridot, a popular stone in jewelry which can fetch $450 per carat in its best form

Olivine is a green mineral which, in its magnesium rich form, is known as Peridot.

Peridot has been used for centuries to make jewellery and, in some cases, can be worth as much as $450 per carat.

This week, locals shared photographs of the small olivines on social media after collecting them.

They called them 'Kilauea's little gems' and said: 'It's literally raining gems!'

Cheryl Gansecki, a geologist at the University of Hawaii-Hilo that studies the composition of Kilauea's lava, told Mashable that there were two reasons the gems were being discovered more frequently because of the eruptions.

'The lava that is erupting now is very crystal-rich and it is quite possible that residents might be finding olivine.

'It can be carried in the pumice [rapidly cooled lava] pieces that have been rained all over the area or left behind when weaker lava rocks are crushed,' she said.

Olivine is commonly found in lava samples and in rocks around Hawaii.

Stanley Mertzman, a volcanologist at Franklin and Marshall College, said: 'The olivine crystals folks are finding on the ground scattered about are from violently ejected basalt [a type of lava] blobs wherein the embedded, earlier-formed olivine crystals are freed from their surrounding pahoehoe [syrupy lava] basalt liquid.'

Kilauea erupted again on Thursday, spewing ash onto the Big Island.

The volcano has been erupting for 43 consecutive days, placing homes, lives and businesses at risk.

Around 600 homes have been swallowed since the eruption began on May 3 but thankfully, there have been no casualties as a result of it.

A handout photo shows the most recent eruption, on June 12. The volcano's Fissure 8 fountains reached 160ft overnight on June 12 in the most recent burst

Lava rushes into the ocean on June 12 following another explosion on the Big Island. The relentless flow is wreaking havoc on the marine life which lives on the periphery of the island

A view of the volcano shows lava running down towards the water where a delta of around 250 acres filled the bay on Tuesday

On Monday, as the lava found a path towards the ocean, authorities started moving people back into their homes.

While the island's people are safe, the eruption is wreaking havoc on marine life and will continue to do so for decades.

When lava - which emits sulfur dioxide and hydriodic acid - mixes with water, it changes the acidity in the water.

If the acidity changes enough, it could have a deleterious effect on sensitive marine life, which would either leave the area or stay away from it in the future, he said.

In addition, when lava meets water, it sheds tiny, glassy particles into the water, which Samsone said would be harmful when passing through animals with gills.

A small explosion at the summit of Hawaii's erupting Kilauea Volcano on Sunday June 10