West end of 'Alae Crater, showing exhumed mezzanine, after catastro...

West end of 'Alae Crater, showing exhumed mezzanine, after catastrophic draining on August 4, 1969. 'Alae was a double crater, a younger deeper pit (previous photo) cutting through the floor of an older pit; this floor was termed the "mezzanine." This photo, taken from the visitor overlook on the south rim of the crater at about 1545 that afternoon, shows the mezzanine, exhumed by the draining of the crater. Masses of semisolid lava as large as houses were slowly sliding across the mezzanine and into the remaining lava in the older pit. Compare with the next image, taken from the same location about 30 hours later.