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Lava oozing out of cracks for two weeks in rural Hawaii neighborhoods took on new characteristics as fresher magma mixed with decades-old magma, sending a flow toward the ocean Saturday.
By Saturday morning, two of 22 fissures had merged, creating a wide flow advancing at rates of up to 300 yards (274 metres) per hour.
The flow was 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) from the ocean, scientists said.
According to Wendy Stovall, a US Geological Survey volcanologist, the fountains are created by vents closing, forcing magma to burst through a single outpoint.