Pele's hair

Pele's hair, with a hand lens as scale
Strands of Pele's hair under microscope view
Not to be confused with Spanish moss, occasionally referred to as Pele's hair.

Pele's hair (closest modern Hawaiian translation: "lauoho o Pele"[1]) is a volcanic glass formation produced from cooled lava stretched into thin strands, usually from lava fountains, lava cascades, or vigorous lava flows. It is named after Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes.[2]

  1. ^ "Definition of Pele's hair". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  2. ^ Shimozuru, Daisuke (1994). "Physical parameters governing the formation of Pele's hair and tears". Bulletin of Volcanology. 56 (3): 217–219. Bibcode:1994BVol...56..217S. doi:10.1007/BF00279606.