An astounding video of a 'lava boat' in Hawaii shows a river of hot lava tearing off a huge chunk of rock

U.S. Geological Survey via AP, file

Lava flows from fissures near Pahoa, Hawaii.

• Hawaii's Kilauea volcano continues to erupt, spewing lava and ash onto Hawaii's Big Island.
• A video posted on Thursday shows a phenomenon that geologists are calling a 'lava boat.'
• In the video (embedded below), a river of lava breaks off a massive chunk of rock.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is continuing to erupt, with lava gushing throughout a swath of Hawaii's Big Island and pouring into the Pacific Ocean.

The volcano - which has been slowly and continuously erupting for decades - entered a new, more violent eruption phase in May.

Thousands of local residents were forced to evacuate following a series of explosions, and hundreds of homes, offices, and other structures have been damaged around the Big Island.

Beyond the immediate fire danger from the lava, high levels of sulfur dioxide spewing from the volcano pose a serious threat to children, elderly people, and people with respiratory issues. The ongoing eruptions have severely impacted Hawaii's tourism-driven economy and are transforming large swaths of the Big Island's normally lush landscape. 

But despite the dangers of the volcanic eruption, the disaster can also be savagely beautiful at times - and something of a cornucopia for geologists and volcanologists to study.

A video posted Thursday on Twitter by Mileka Lincoln, a Hawaii News Now reporter, shows a rare phenomenon that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is calling it a 'lava boat.'

In the video, a fast-moving river of lava breaks off a massive chunk of rock, which then floats down the lava river before it gets broken apart.

Check out the video below - the rock breaks about 40 seconds in.