Images

This image shows a thermal map of the flow on the pali and coastal plain, created from airborne thermal images. White pixels are hot, and show areas of active surface breakouts. The background image is a satellite image collected before the current lava flow was active.

USGS HVO geochemist measuring gases released from Kīlauea with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light.

The active lava flow on Kīlauea Volcano's south flank providing wonderful lava-viewing experiences for Park visitors. A section of the road can be seen here, with fume from the active lava tube in the far distance behind it, and the active flow front in the foreground. The flow front was less than 100 meters (yards) from the ocean when this photo was taken.

View of the slabby pāhoehoe flow front as it crosses to the ocean side of the emergency access road inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Flow 61G reached the emergency access road inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on July 25 at 3:20 pm and crossed the road in about 30 minutes. At 4:00 pm, the flow front was approximately 110 m (0.07 miles) from the ocean.

Summit of Cleveland Volcano in Alaska's central Aleutian Islands. A lava dome is visible in the crater.

Southeast flanks of Mount Cleveland, a volcano in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. Gas and steam plume seen emanating from the summit.

A faint double rainbow provided a beautiful backdrop for sluggish pāhoehoe lava oozing out from near the flow front this morning.

The flow front remains active and consists of slowly advancing pāhoehoe. There are scattered breakouts along the margins of the flow on the coastal plain and base of the pali. During the overflight today, the flow front was 730 m (0.45 miles) from the ocean.

This image shows a thermal map of the flow on the pali and coastal plain, created from airborne thermal images. White pixels are hot, and show areas of active surface breakouts. The background image is a satellite image collected before the current lava flow was active.

During early morning field observations, a large breakout of lava near the base of Pūlama Pali (steep fault scarp in background) was visible through fumes from the lava tube and heat shimmer from lava on the coastal plain. The approximate location of the lava tube feeding Kīlauea's active lava flow is visible as degassing sources (white fume) on the pali.

A close up view of the ‘A‘ā channel.

A breakout at the base of the pali viewed by a field crew this morning has formed a channelized ‘A‘ā flow on the steeper portion of the coastal plain.

The active lava flow continues to creep across the coastal plain on Kīlauea's south flank. Breakouts of pāhoehoe (foreground) are fed by lava traveling through lava tubes from the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent and down Pūlama pali (top background). USGS photo.

The HVO field crew mapped new breakouts on the lava flow by recording GPS points along the active flow margin.

Map of Kīlauea's active lava flow as of July 19, 2016. Red shows the extent of new breakouts since July 8; pink shows the flow prior as of July 8, and gray shows areas covered by earlier Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016).

A long, hot hike was not needed to see red lava today. Vigorous spattering from Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park as of this afternoon. The lava lake surface, measured at 25 m (82 ft) below the vent rim this morning, was high enough for the spattering to be seen from afar.

Kīlauea Volcano's lava flow remains active, with pāhoehoe lobes, like the one shown here, slowly advancing on the coastal plain. Breakouts upslope of the leading edge continue to widen the flow margins. Today, the active flow front was approximately 850 m (0.5 miles) from the ocean, and 720 m (0.4 miles) from the road.

A zoomed-in view of the lava lake spattering.

The large hole on the northeast flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō remains open, providing a view of forked lava streams. Since the last overflight on Friday, July 15, the lava streams have started to crust over, reducing the glow in the pit.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of July 8 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as mapped on July 19 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016) are shown in gray.