The Mystery behind Raining Gemstones in Mount Kilauea

What captured the attention was the news that the place received a rain of gemstones?

The reports were indeed true and the gemstone rain was of olivine, more commonly known as peridot. Olivine is commonly found among Hawaii’s coastline rocks. In fact, its traces can be found in the entire region covering the island’s beaches. This mineral takes on a greenish shade here.

Olivine is a mineral contained in basaltic lava. This is the mineral that has become popular through peridot and diamond engagement rings. Olivine minerals are pushed out when the pressure builds underneath the Earth's surface and hot magma is forced out. This resulting lava contains an abundance of the gemstones.

Volcanic eruption causes olivine to be spread out across the island and its vicinity. It is just a simultaneous event to the several volcanic activities taking place in this volcano threatened region. Scientists also argue that the olivine that people are finding might be from past eruptions. Yet they speculate that the quantity of olivine inside the volcanoes is diminishing.

The olivine that people found “raining” from the sky is likely just a byproduct of explosive events from Kilauea’s current tantrums, and probably cooling lava too. Some of it may even have been from past eruptions, and that people notice them just now. However, geologists say that this current volcano in Mount Kilauea does not have a lot of olivines.