Video: Hawaiian lava lake causes volcanic crater to explode

The Big Island of Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park put on quite a show this weekend.

A lava lake created by Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano caused the collapse of a crater wall and a subsequent fiery, rock-filled explosion.

Hawaii, while lush with breathtaking flora and fauna, is also home to a number of very powerful volcanoes. Among them is Kilauea, which is located on the Big Island, and is a particularly fiery one that's been spreading lava beneath the surface of the Halemaumau crater for years. Recently, the molten mass began to appear and spill out of the crater vent, and on May 3, an explosion resulted when rocks fell into the lava.

The dramatic event was triggered by the collapse of a portion of the crater's walls. A webcam stationed nearby caught the happening in its entirety.

It shows lava being thrown high into the air, and smoke billowing into the atmosphere. There is also quite a bit of volcanic debris being scattered in the video.

Those who investigated found that the occurrence resulted in fist-sized rocks being flung as far as the crater's rim.

According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, some of them ended up landing very close to the visitor observation area.

Thankfully, the overlook site was closed at the time.