Pele's Hair

Pele's hair is a remarkable form of basaltic volcanic glass drawn out into fine, hair-like fibers, often golden brown to greenish and only fractions of a millimeter thick. It is named after Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes.

The strands form when bubbles burst in fluid, gas-rich basaltic lava and the droplets are stretched into long glassy threads by wind and the lava's own motion. The fibers can be carried great distances by the wind and accumulate in hollows downwind of vents.

Delicate and brittle, Pele's hair is a striking natural curiosity, but its glass fibers are sharp and can be a skin and eye irritant.

Pele's hair forms during fluid (low-viscosity) basaltic eruptions, such as lava fountains, lava lakes, and active flows like those of Kilauea in Hawaii.

When gas bubbles burst at the surface of very fluid lava, tiny droplets of molten glass are flung out and stretched by wind and momentum into long, thin filaments that quench instantly into glass. Often a small droplet (Pele's tears) remains attached at one end of a strand.

The lightweight fibers are blown downwind and collect in cracks, on the ground, and in vegetation. Besides Hawaii, Pele's hair is reported from Iceland, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, and other basaltic volcanoes.

Identify Pele's hair by its distinctive form: thin, brittle, golden-brown to greenish glass filaments resembling straw or hair, sometimes with a tiny glassy bead (Pele's tear) at one end.

The fibers are basaltic glass, hardness about 5-6, glassy in luster, and extremely fine and fragile. They occur loose in tangled mats or scattered strands near basaltic volcanoes.

Look-alikes: it superficially resembles dried grass, plant fibers, or man-made mineral wool/fiberglass, but its volcanic-glass nature and association with active basaltic vents distinguish it. Caution: the strands are sharp and can splinter, irritating skin, eyes, and lungs, so handling should be careful.

Pele's hair has no commercial or lapidary use; it is far too fragile and is essentially a natural volcanic curiosity. In Hawaii it carries deep cultural and spiritual significance as a manifestation of the goddess Pele, and local tradition discourages removing it from volcanic sites.

Scientifically, Pele's hair is valuable for studying eruption dynamics and the properties of fluid basaltic magma, as the fibers record the composition and behavior of fountaining lava.

It poses a minor environmental and health hazard, as wind-blown fibers can irritate skin and eyes and contaminate rainwater catchments downwind of active vents.