Images

The flows on the coastal plain continue to take their time on their path to the ocean. Today, relatively sluggish pāhoehoe breakouts were active about 1.1 km (0.7 miles) from the water. In the upper right portion of the photograph, fume sources on the pali mark the path of the lava tube coming through Royal Gardens subdivision.

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.

Another view of the flows on the coastal plain, showing the remaining distance to the ocean. The active flow front is near the center of the image (see above image for reference).

A lava pond has been active in a collapse pit in the eastern portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater for over a month now, with continuous roiling and spattering. For scale, two spatter collection trays - each slightly larger than a lunch tray - can be seen on the crater's rim at the left edge of the image.

Active flows are still spread out across a broad area on the coastal plain, and advancement towards the ocean remains relatively slow. This image is a composite of a thermal image and normal photograph, with white and yellow areas showing active pāhoehoe breakouts, and red areas showing inactive, but still warm, portions of the flow surface.

This nearly-vertical thermal image, taken from a helicopter, shows the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u. The lava level has been variable over time, and today it was near the level of the deep inner ledge, which is approximately 70 meters (230 feet) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

USGS and INGEOMINAS colleagues at an lahar-detection (Acoustic Flow Monitor or AFM) station on the west flank of Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia. View is up the glacial valley toward the summit area.

The flows active on the coastal plain for the last month and a half have entered Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park over the past day. These flows were just 55 meters (180 ft) within the Park boundary, and 900 meters (0.6 miles) from the ocean.

A few hundred meters (yards) up from the flow front, pāhoehoe breakouts of a more fluid appearance were abundant.

Another look at the rough, spiny breakouts at the flow front today.

From the top of the inflated flow margin, the source of the surge can be seen.

Flows are still advancing slowly on the coastal plain, and were 1.3 km (0.8 miles) from the ocean today. Although overall flow field advancement was sluggish, one small area had a brief surge of activity during today's field mapping. A portion of an inflated flow margin gave way due to increasing fluid pressure from within, sending out an impressive gush of lava.

At the front of the surge, the thin surface crust rolls up as it advances, creating a ropey pāhoehoe texture.

Flows were spread across a broad expanse on the coastal plain today, and continue to slowly advance towards the ocean, but have made only minor progress over the past week. This image combines a thermal image with a normal photograph, with the bright yellow areas showing active breakouts and red/purple areas showing warm, but inactive, flow areas.

An HVO geologist, wearing a balaclava and thick gloves to guard against the extreme heat, uses a rock hammer to take a sample of an active pāhoehoe toe. He immediately drops the fluid lava in a bucket of water to quench the sample and prevent further crystal growth, preserving the sample in a pristine state.

Preview image for video: A small lava pond, set within a collapse pit, has been active in the eastern portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater for the past several weeks. At the east margin of the lava pond, lava sinks back into the system, with frequent spatter bursts sourced from this downwelling spot.

Lava, driven by fluid pressure within the flow interior, breaks out from the top of a tumulus on the coastal plain.

Lava continued to slowly advance across the coastal plain today, and was still about 1.4 km (0.9 miles) from the ocean. This photo shows a good example of "blue glassy" pāhoehoe on the coastal plain.

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.

San Francisco Peaks in the San Francisco Volcanic Field are located outside of Flagstaff Arizona. Hazards from future eruptions would have local impacts.

Examining a fresh sample of Pele's hair from the lava lake within the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent.