Lava can reach temperatures between 700 and 1,200 °C once it leaves the vents of Kilauea, a hyperactive shield volcano in Hawaii, says Alex Rivest, Ph.D, in his description of the above YouTube video. 

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The video shows him acting on his curiousity and answering a question that many have wondered, but few have dared to answer: What happens when you step on lava?

"This video shows how pressure applied to this dense material only causes a slight indentation," said Rivest on his YouTube page. "While this may not be surprising (it is liquid rock), I think that many people think of lava as more of a hot-watery-like substance."

The step also sparks a small fire underneath his foot.

Rivest travels the world to take inspirational photographs and co-founded Blue Kitabu, an organization that empowers local community leaders to build sustainable schools in Ghana and Kenya. But the neuroscientists also has an interest in nature.

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