A popular tourist destination is Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
In 2017, some 2 million people visited the park to see formations caused by the volcano
Kilauea and other natural wonders.
Kīlauea is the epitome of the beautiful, yet dangerous power of the earth.
The volcano has erupted almost continuously for the last 35 years--from 1983 to 2018.
It’s the most active of the 5 volcanoes that form the big island of Hawaiʻi.
The volcano’s 4,090 foot (1,250 m) summit long ago collapsed to form a 3 mile (5 km)
long and 2 mile (3.2 km) wide caldera.
At the stunning Steaming Bluff overlook on the edge of the caldera, groundwater seeps
through large cracks in the earth onto hot volcanic rocks and is transformed into steam.
On the evening of Wednesday, May 1, 2019, an unnamed soldier who had traveled to the
big Island for training exercises visited the park, presumably to enjoy nature like
any other of the tourists.
While at Steaming Bluff he made a questionable decision.
It was probably a spur of the moment idea to climb over the protective metal guardrail
meant to keep visitors from the edge of the crater, but ultimately it had life changing
implications.
Once on the other side of the railing, the man got closer to the bluff edge to get a
better view, but the ground began to crumble beneath his feet; he lost his footing and
fell from a 300 foot (91.44 m) cliff.
Thankfully, there was no lava present when the man fell.
However the floor of the caldera was still extremely hot--temperatures can reach in excess
of 2,140° Fahrenheit (1,171° C).
So what would happen if you fell into a lake of lava?
Well, technically if you’re standing on the edge of a volcano and fall down into the
crater, you’re falling into a lake of magma, not lava.
Magma is molten rock below the crust of the earth; lava is magma pushed above the surface,
usually through volcanic eruption.
Yes, we realize that you won’t care about what it’s called if you happen to fall into
a pool of molten rock, but for all intents and purposes we’ll call it lava from here
on out.
Given lava’s high density and resistance to flow, most likely you would splat onto
the surface of a lava pit and float rather than sink deep into it.
Lava is two to three times denser than water and the human body.
Also, it’s extremely viscous.
However, the greater height you fall from, the more deeply you would penetrate the lava.
Of course, you would die a rapid painful death.
Possibly you’d simply burst into flames and burn to death.
Fresh lava can range from a temperature of 1,300° F to 2,200° F (700° and 1,200°
C)--over four times as hot as the broiler settings on most ovens.
Cooler lava may run 600° F (315° C).
The temperature of the lava would help determine how quickly you expire.
Instantly the lava would begin to give you full thickness burns.The means your epidermis
would quickly break down and begin to disintegrate.
Your underlying skin layers would lose all their water and basically turn to jerky.
At the same time, your subcutaneous fat would melt and bubble off.
Your blood vessels would rupture soon afterwards, causing rapid blood loss.
Gradually you would be fully consumed including your bones and melt away into nothing.
Or the radiant heat might kill you even before you hit the lava.
There’s also a chance you might asphyxiate or sear your lungs due to the hot air and
gases above the surface of the lake, pass out, go into a coma and die.
Also hitting a super dense substance at a high speed could crack your head open and
shatter your bones.
When the man fell into the caldera around 6:30 p.m., a horrified eyewitness notified
authorities.
A search and rescue operation immediately got underway with around 25 responders forming
small search parties to scour the area.
After around 3 hours of searching, at about 9:40 p.m, the rescuers located the man.
Miraculously he had plummeted only 70 feet (21 m) and landed on a narrow ledge jutting
out of the cliff instead of falling to the floor of the crater.
He was severely hurt, but still alive.
Though nightfall and windy conditions made the high angle rescue challenging, the rescuers
were up to the task.
They rappelled down the cliffs of the caldera, secured the man into a stokes stretcher and
airlifted him out with the help of a military helicopter.
He was flown to the Hilo Medical Center in critical condition.
The next day, the man was upgraded to stable condition, but had a long road to recovery
ahead of him.
Now go watch What If We Put A NUKE Inside Yellowstone Volcano?!
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