Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Photo and Video Chronology - Kīlauea - October 14, 2012

By Kīlauea October 14, 2012

Lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u overlook vent at high level.

Lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u overlook vent at high level

Lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u overlook vent at high level...
The lava lake at Kīlauea's summit was about 46 m (150 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater today—the highest it has reached.
A portrait view of the lava lake with the opposite wall of Halema‘u...
A portrait view of the lava lake with the opposite wall of Halema‘uma‘u beyond and the caldera wall of Kīlauea in the background. Jaggar Museum and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) adorn the summit of Kīlauea at upper right.

 

Video of rocks exploding off of Halema‘uma‘u overlook vent wall

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Heat from the high lava lake level in the 'overlook' vent in Halema‘uma‘u is causing the walls of the vent above the lava surface to expand and fracture. This is the source of the cracking and booming noises emanating from the vent in recent days. This video, zoomed in on the back (NW) wall of the vent, shows small fragments of rock exploding from the wall and scattering onto the lake surface. Watch closely...the rocks are originating from an alcove that overhangs the lake and can be difficult to see.

Get Our News

These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.

Hawaii News

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory News

Kīlauea News

Natural Hazards News

United States of America News

Volcano Hazards Program News