Images

The leading tip of the active portion of the June 27th lava flow continues to advance downslope, and is 3.4 km (2.1 km) from the intersection of Highway 130 and Pāhoa Village Road (as measured along a straight line). The front has advanced 300 meters (0.2 miles) since Sunday, December 7, and 1.4 km (0.9 miles) since our last overflight on December 1.

This map uses a satellite image acquired in March 2014 (provided by Digital Globe) as a base to show the area around the front of Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow. The area of the flow on December 1, 2014, at 11:30 AM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on December 9 at 2:30 PM is shown in red.

A vigorous channelized breakout on the flow, a short distance upslope of the leading tip of activity.

A breakout was also present in the upslope portion of the June 27th lava flow, closer to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The breakout point was about 800 meters (0.5 miles) north of Pu‘u Kahauale‘a, which is close to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The breakout began on December 5 from the existing lava tube, and this photo shows the breakout point clearly.

California volcanoes and threat rankings.

Fogo Volcano, as viewed from space, on November 24, 2014, at 11:58 UTC, shows lava flows (bright yellow and orange) erupting from Pico de Fogo. LANDSAT-8 image courtesy of Peter Webley (http://volcanodetect.blogspot.com/2014/11/landsat-view-of-fogo-volcano-…).

This image was acquired yesterday (December 1, 2014) by the WorldView 2 satellite, and shows the activity in the downslope portion of the June 27th lava flow. The portion of the June 27th lava flow that entered Pāhoa in October is inactive, but a new lobe is advancing downslope a short distance west of the earlier flow.

A closer look at the narrow lava channel near the leading tip of the active lobe. The channel consists of both open sections as well as sections that are crusted over.

A small breakout was also active on the upslope portion of the June 27th lava flow. The pāhoehoe lava was flowing over an ‘A‘ā flow from late 2007.

This small-scale map shows the June 27th lava flow in relation to lower Puna. The area of the flow on November 24, 2014, at 12:00 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on December 1 at 11:30 AM is shown in red.

A comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image of the leading tip of activity on the June 27th lava flow. The white box shows the rough extent of the thermal image. The thermal image shows the narrow lava channel near the leading tip of the new lobe.

A comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image of the narrow channel at the leading tip of the new lobe on the June 27th lava flow. The normal photograph is partially obscured by smoke from vegetation burning, but the thermal image can "see" through the smoke to show the nature of the channel in detail.

This map uses a satellite image acquired in March 2014 (provided by Digital Globe) as a base to show the area around the front of the June 27th lava flow. The area of the flow on November 24, 2014, at 12:00 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on December 1 at 11:30 AM is shown in red.

The breakouts that began about two weeks ago near the area of ground cracks continued to advance downslope over the past week, creating a new lobe on the June 27th lava flow. This lobe is a short distance west of the earlier portion of the June 27th flow that reached Pāhoa.

This large-scale map shows the distal part of the June 27th flow in relation to nearby Puna communities. The area of the flow on November 24, 2014, at 12:00 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on December 1 at 11:30 AM is shown in red.

A vertical view of the lava flow in the area of ground cracks. Portions of the flow surface include numerous downed trees, resulting from the initial phases of the flow burning through the trunks, causing the trees to topple.

When Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō began to form in 1983, the ground surface on which it was built was at an elevation of about 720 m (~2,360 ft). The Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone eventually reached a height of 255 m (837 ft), putting its top at an elevation of about 975 m (~3,200 ft).

This large-scale map shows the June 27th lava flow in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone in relation to nearby Puna communities. The area of the flow on November 17, 2014, at 2:00 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on November 24 at 12:00 PM is shown in red.

Although the downslope portion of the June 27th lava flow, near Pāhoa, is inactive, breakouts persist upslope near the ground crack system and well site. The lava has advanced a short distance downslope towards the north (towards the right side of the image), following the west margin of the existing June 27th lava flow.

This view looks downslope towards the east. The active breakout is burning vegetation along its margins, creating numerous small smoke plumes. Residential areas are visible in the upper portion of the photograph, with Pāhoa in the upper left.

A comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image of the breakout active in the area of ground cracks. The white box shows the rough extent of the thermal image. The thermal image shows the location of active pāhoehoe lobes scattered over the area of the breakout, with activity slowly advancing downslope towards the north (right side of images).