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Large-scale map of Kīlauea's ERZ lava flow

Detailed Description

This large-scale map shows the distal part of Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow in relation to nearby Puna communities. The area of the flow on December 16 at 11:15 AM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on December 18 at 11:15 AM is shown in red.

The leading tip of the flow had slowed, but had also widened and split into two branches. Both branches continue to advance downslope toward the Pahoa Marketplace, and the closest was about 1.0 km (0.6 miles) away. Other breakouts were active about 2.0 km (1.3 miles) behind the tip of the flow and within the crack system near the True/Mid-Pacific geothermal well site.

The blue lines show steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 digital elevation model (DEM; for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth's surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The yellow line marks the mapped extent of the active lava tube.

Sources/Usage

Public Domain.