Images

View to the northwest looking at the active flows (center of photo). Activity over the past few weeks has built a broad, low rootless shield (a shield-shaped mound of lava built on the flow field, not the vent), and there has been little advancement downslope.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

View looking southwest at the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone is at the top of the photo, and the trace of the September 21 fissure is defined by the line of fume at the center of the photo.

View looking east at the east edge of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater (bottom of photo) and the trace of the September 21 fissure (center of photo). The active lava tube carrying lava downslope to the southeast is marked by the line of fume that trends toward the upper right side of the photo.

View looking nearly straight down into the open top of a spatter cone built over the September 21 fissure on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's east flank. The brighter, yellowish zone is the surface of the active lava stream as it flows downslope (toward the top of the photo).

Colonnades in a basaltic lava flow downstream of Boiling Pots on the Wailuku River. Photo courtesy of James Anderson, UH-Hilo.

Humboldt State University geologist Nick Graehl and student assistant collecting gouge core sediment samples in the field.

This thermal image, looking northwest, shows the active flows east of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Bright yellow portions of the image represent areas of active lava. A short channelized flow was active on the upper east flank of the cone, with most activity— comprising pāhoehoe (center of image)—heading southeast.

A close-up of the active pāhoehoe flows.

Map showing the current configuration of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Old lava flows are shown in colors that match those in the small scale map. The area in dark reddish brown represents the crater-filling lava and overflows of Episode 61 spanning the period from August 20 to September 21.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption. The areas covered during distinct eruptive phases are shown in unique colors and labeled with the years in which those flows were active.

Close-up of the front of an active pahoehoe flow from this afternoon.

This photo, looking west, shows the current flows that have erupted on the east side of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone is the large fume source in the upper left portion of the photograph, and the current flows are sourced from a fissure extending down its upper east flank. In the left-center of the photograph, the bright patch of lava is active pahoehoe.

A new fissure opened and began erupting on the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō early this morning, feeding channelized ‘A‘ā flow. The fissure—the source of the lava flow—is shown in this image. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone and crater is in the background. View is to the southwest

Close-up aerial view of the head of the erupting fissure. The edge of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater is at lower right. View is to the east.

View looking east-northeast, directly down the upper end of the fissure. The fuming cones in the foreground are parts of the fissure that erupted when the fissure opened but have since shut down. The spatter beyond, where the fissure is still erupting, is reaching about 2 m (7 ft) into the air. The lava channel is visible in the background.

High aerial view of the active lava channel. The lowest, eastern-most end of the fissure is in view at the bottom of the photo. Rather than feeding the ‘A‘ā flow active for the first couple of days, the flow now is spreading out on the low slope area at the eastern base of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, visible in the top half of the photo.

Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone, and the erupting fissure, is just to the left of top center. The channelized flow initially heads east-northeast, then turns to the southeast. The front of the flow is at the bottom of the image, where it is advancing as an ‘A‘ā flow.

This view is to the east, looking at the western-most erupting part of the fissure. This lava joins with lava erupting from the fissure out of sight below and feeds into the channelized flow visible crossing the through the background of the photo.

Lava channel fed by September 21 fissure eruption coursing down the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Stalled terminus of the ‘A‘ā flow fed by the September 21 fissure eruption.