Images

At fissure 8, fountains provide a vigorous supply of lava that exits the cinder cone and drops over a spillway to enter a well-established lava channel that extends to the sea.

USGS field crews track activity in and around Leilani Estates in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone. Observations are also collected on a daily basis from cracks in the area of Highway 130, shown here (no changes in temperature, crack width, or gas emissions have been noted recently).

The spatter cone at fissure 8 is now about 55 m (180 ft) tall. Lava fountains rise only occasionally above that point, sending a shower of 

On June 24 a small ash-poor steam plume rose above the Halema‘uma‘u crater rim following another collapse explosion event at 4:12 p.m. HST (image taken at 4:27 p.m.).

This animated GIF shows a timelapse sequence consisting of one image per day between June 13 and 24. The photos were taken from the southern caldera rim, near Keanakāko‘i Crater, and look north towards HVO and Jaggar Museum.

Lava is entering the sea on the southern side of the entry area primarily through the open channel, but also along a 1 km (0.6 mi) wide area. The entry areas are marked by billowing laze plumes.

View to the southwest, looking "up" the lava channel. Lava flows from Fissure 8 (not pictured) through the open channel about 13 km (8 mi) to the ocean. Lava remains incandescent (glowing orange) along the entire length of the channel with sections of cooled lava (black) on the surface.

Aerial view of lava fountain at Fissure 8 and uppermost lava channel during an early morning overflight of the lava flow&nbs

At fissure 8, fountains provide a vigorous supply of lava that exits the cinder cone and drops over a spillway to enter a well-established lava channel that extends to the sea.

Aerial view of lava fountain at Fissure 8 and uppermost lava channel during an early morning overflight of the lava flow field.

This thermal map shows the fissure system and lava flows as of 6 am on Sunday, June 24. The fountain at Fissure 8 remains active, with the lava flow entering the ocean at Kapoho. Very small, short flows were observed today near Fissure 22. The black and white area is the extent of the thermal map.

Geologists captured this time-lapse video of the perched lava channel issuing from fissure 8 on Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone.

On June 23, 2018 at 4:32 p.m. HST after approximately 17 hours of elevated seismicity, a collapse explosion occurred at the summit if Kīlauea. The energy released by the event was equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake.

View of cinder cones in the Northeast Rift Zone near the summit of Mauna Loa. View to the north-northeast with Mauna Kea in the background. Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843, most recently erupting in 1975 and 1984. Photo credit: Matt Patrick, USGS

Lava continues to erupt at a high rate from Fissure 8 and flow within the established channel to the ocean. No channel overflows were observed during this morning's overflight.

Halema'uma'u crater at 8:30 a.m., view is toward the south. Several benches are clearly visible within the crater.

Early morning view of the open lava channelbeginning about 5 km (3.1 miles) from Fissure 8.

Fissure 8 continues building a tephra cone and producing a robust channelized lava flow on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone.

This thermal map shows the fissure system and lava flows as of 6 am on Thursday, June 21. The fountain at Fissure 8 remains active, with the lava flow entering the ocean at Kapoho. Very small, short flows have been active near the Fissure 6 and Fissure 16/18 area. The black and white area is the extent of the thermal map.

At a wide point in the channelized lava flow, a ropy crust has formed over the more fluid lava below.

Early morning view of the ocean entry. The lava fountain from fissure 8 is visible behind the laze plume rising from the entry point. The open lava flowchannel is visible just beyond the solidified darker flows in the foreground.