Photo and Video Chronology - Kīlauea - July 20, 2018

During their early morning overflight, USGS scientists captured this view showing three of the five volcanoes that comprise the Island of Hawai‘i: Mauna Loa (distant upper left), Mauna Kea (distant right), and Kīlauea (foreground), with the fissure 8 vent and channelized lava flow on the volcano's lower East Rift Zone.

An aerial view of the southernmost ocean entry lava lobe. As of 6:30 a.m. HST, the south margin of the lava flow had not changed since yesterday, and was about 500 m (0.3 mi) from the boat ramp at Isaac Hale Park.

This telephoto image, looking across Kīlauea's summit from the northeast rim of the caldera, shows rubble dislodged from a cliff just north of the South Sulphur Bank, with the 1974 gully between. With such rubble, it is no wonder that dust clouds were so prominent in this area after yesterday's collapse event.

This photo provides context for the adjacent image. South Sulphur Bank is the light yellow area at right.

Near the center of the photo, a section of the former Crater Rim Drive on Kīlauea's caldera floor is just barely visible. That section of road has been chopped off by the crater just east of where it fed the former Halema‘uma‘u visitor overlook parking lot. Beyond are cracks cutting Sand Spit, the ash-coated 1921 lava flow, and the cliff that more or less forms the boundary of the topographic caldera.

Repeat photography from the same location helps USGS scientists see subtle changes in the landscape of Halema‘uma‘u and the summit caldera. This photo was taken from HVO's current observation point, and will be inserted into a timeseries of similar photos that document the evolution of the growing crater.