Photo and Video Chronology - Kīlauea - January 19, 2016

A closer view of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, just above the center point of the photograph. View is towards the southwest. In the foreground, the circular lava pond that was active in July 2014 is visible. The lava tube feeding the active flows on the June 27th lava flow is evident by the line of white fume sources extending off the right side of the photograph.

Viewing conditions into Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater were exceptional today, providing clear views of the crater floor. This view is towards the northwest. The inner, deeper crater formed in mid-2014 following the opening of the June 27th vent, and occasional small flows on the crater floor are evident by their dark color. The smaller, circular pit in the west portion of the crater has contained a small, active lava pond in recent months. Very little of the original cone, formed in the early part of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption in the mid-1980s, remains visible on the surface. The tan colored area in the foreground, and the brown sections of the crater rim in the upper part of the photograph, are the original portions of the cone and consist of cinder and scoria.

This photograph was taken from the western pit at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, and shows the small lava pond (roughly 20 m in diameter) contained within the pit.

Incandescence was visible in the small pit that formed recently on the upper northeast flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Colorful sulfur deposits have formed recently around one of the cracks on the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater.

A view of the western portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater, with the small circular pit that contains the active lava pond. HVO's cameras are on the rim at the right side of the photograph.

A hornito has recently formed over the lava tube on the north flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, at the spot of the breakout that occurred on November 25.

An HVO geologist collects spatter deposited around the base of the hornito for geochemical analysis.