BH250-232b
Title
BH250-232b
Subject
Pele’s Hair
Description
Pele’s Hair is a striking volcanic product named after Pele. Although it resembles human hair, Pele’s Hair is actually composed of delicate strands of volcanic glass formed from molten basaltic lava. These thin, silky fibers develop during lava fountaining, spattering, or vigorous lava flows when blobs of lava are thrown into the air and stretched by wind, motion, and surface tension into long filaments before cooling rapidly. Once quenched, the molten threads solidify into shimmering golden, amber, or dark brown strands that may blanket the ground downwind of an erupting vent.
Pele’s Hair is most commonly associated with basaltic volcanoes such as Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, where low-viscosity magma and lava fountains provide ideal eruptive conditions. Because basalt is fluid and gas-rich, droplets can be drawn into threads several centimeters to tens of centimeters long, though many are much shorter. Chemically, Pele’s Hair is basaltic glass rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, and silica typical of Hawaiian tholeiitic lava. Mineralogically, it is mostly natural volcanic glass, though tiny microlites of plagioclase, pyroxene, or olivine may begin to crystallize if cooling is slightly slower.
In hand sample, Pele’s Hair appears as fine golden threads with a metallic sheen, often tangled into wispy nests or draped across lava surfaces, vegetation, fences, or rocks (see photos). It is extremely lightweight, brittle, and sharp enough to irritate skin or eyes, so it should be handled carefully. Because it is so fragile, wind and rain quickly break it down, making fresh deposits especially prized by collectors and volcanologists. Pele’s Hair can also provide clues to eruption style, fountain height, wind direction, and magma viscosity. Long, abundant strands generally indicate vigorous lava fountaining and efficient stretching of molten droplets in the air.
Often found alongside Pele’s Hair are Pele’s Tears, tiny rounded droplets or tear-shaped beads of volcanic glass that cooled before being stretched into fibers, as well as reticulite, highly vesicular volcanic glass foam. These materials form from the same eruptive process but preserve different responses of airborne lava to motion and cooling. In many eruptions, they occur together, recording the dynamic fragmentation and rapid quenching of lava during Hawaiian fire-fountain eruptions. Specimens such as BH250-232c beautifully illustrate this association, where strands of Pele’s Hair accompany small glassy beads and frothy reticulite fragments.
Pele’s Hair is most commonly associated with basaltic volcanoes such as Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, where low-viscosity magma and lava fountains provide ideal eruptive conditions. Because basalt is fluid and gas-rich, droplets can be drawn into threads several centimeters to tens of centimeters long, though many are much shorter. Chemically, Pele’s Hair is basaltic glass rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, and silica typical of Hawaiian tholeiitic lava. Mineralogically, it is mostly natural volcanic glass, though tiny microlites of plagioclase, pyroxene, or olivine may begin to crystallize if cooling is slightly slower.
In hand sample, Pele’s Hair appears as fine golden threads with a metallic sheen, often tangled into wispy nests or draped across lava surfaces, vegetation, fences, or rocks (see photos). It is extremely lightweight, brittle, and sharp enough to irritate skin or eyes, so it should be handled carefully. Because it is so fragile, wind and rain quickly break it down, making fresh deposits especially prized by collectors and volcanologists. Pele’s Hair can also provide clues to eruption style, fountain height, wind direction, and magma viscosity. Long, abundant strands generally indicate vigorous lava fountaining and efficient stretching of molten droplets in the air.
Often found alongside Pele’s Hair are Pele’s Tears, tiny rounded droplets or tear-shaped beads of volcanic glass that cooled before being stretched into fibers, as well as reticulite, highly vesicular volcanic glass foam. These materials form from the same eruptive process but preserve different responses of airborne lava to motion and cooling. In many eruptions, they occur together, recording the dynamic fragmentation and rapid quenching of lava during Hawaiian fire-fountain eruptions. Specimens such as BH250-232c beautifully illustrate this association, where strands of Pele’s Hair accompany small glassy beads and frothy reticulite fragments.
Coverage
Location: Hawaii, Fissure 8
GPS Locations: 19°27'44.53"N, 154°54'29.61"W
GPS Locations: 19°27'44.53"N, 154°54'29.61"W
Date
2022
Creator
Bereket Haileab
Source
From the rock collection of Bereket Haileab. Sample 232b. Housed at Carleton College in Minnesota.
Contributor
Bereket Haileab
Type
Hand sample
Relation
Collection
Citation
Bereket Haileab, “BH250-232b,” BH250 Mineralogy Teaching Collection, accessed October 22, 2026, https://bereket-haileab.geology.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/285.