Living on Lava

Would you believe the "hot" real estate market includes fee simple lots located on lava fields with sensational views of the ocean and perhaps a glimpse of an active lava flow? An article in the New York Times, dated June 30, 2005, D1, stated that the pace of development on the Big Island is of concern to scientists and civil defense people. There are 60,000 lots lying in areas where "there is a high degree of certainty they will be covered with lava flows in the near future, whether it's 5, 50, or 5,000 years from now," according to Don Thomas, director of the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Richard Chadwick, whose house is located amid a lava field, stated, "It's a different kind of beauty." (NYT is located in the Library.)