Kīlauea Volcano — Timelapse Changes at Caldera (6/13 - 7/7)

This series of images from June 13 through July 7, 2018, show dramatic down-dropping of part of Kīlauea Volcano's summit caldera floor. For weeks, the summit has subsided in both a continuous fashion, as well as in incremental, jolting drops. The withdrawal of magma from the summit reduces pressure in the shallow magma reservoir. When this reduction becomes too great, rock that forms the floor of Halema‘uma‘u and parts of the surrounding Kīlauea caldera floor slump into the shallow magma reservoir to generate a collapse/explosion event. These events occur about every 24-32 hours. This view, from the Keanakāko‘i Overlook, is toward the north, across the caldera floor.