it s a combination of lava and haze. once las vegas is above 111 degrees celsius, it interacts with saltwater and leads to flash boiling and the evaporation of saltwater releases hydrochloric acid. if you heard that term, it s the same acid in your stomach that breaks down food and digests it quickly. it gets especially given volcanic conditions present across this region, steam is released and these flash steams cannot only be explosive, but they can release volcanic gas. shards of small gas into the atmosphere. of course, that is, in part, why we have so many evacuations in place on la palma. this particular set of islands has been rocked in recent weeks. they have seen upwards of 600 earthquakes in the past 14 days. about 22 of them exceeding magnitude 3.0 or greater. certainly as active as it gets. and, of course, the archipelago