Images

A breakout that started June 26 on the upper pali is now advancing across the coastal plain. The flow front has advanced approximately 500 m (0.3 miles) from the base of the pali, and was about 2.7 km (1.7 miles) from the emergency road this morning.

A telephoto view of the crusted over firehose flow where it exits the sea cliff. Small cracks in the crust expose incandescence from molten lava within the tube that feeds the delta.

This video clip shows Kīlauea Volcano's Kamokuna ocean entry, with the steam plume rising from the front of the lava delta. Recent flows have covered the surface of the delta with fresh lava.

At the front edge of the delta, a large tube-fed stream of lava enters the ocean. Only occasional glimpses of flowing lava could be seen through the thick steam plume produced by the interaction hot lava and cool sea water. A few smaller lava streams also entered the ocean, including the one to the right of the main stream shown here.

On the evening of June 30, 2008, littoral explosions at Kīlauea Volcano's Waikupanaha ocean entry created a fireworks-like display as incandescent fragments of lava flew through the air. When molten lava entered the sea, the water flashed to steam, triggering explosions that hurled spatter and other lava fragments up to heights of 50 m (164 ft).

An aerial view of the Kamokuna lava delta reveals the recent surface breakouts (dark flows) that began on Sunday, June 25, with the short-lived firehose activity. These flows contrast nicely with the older, altered delta surface, which is much lighter in color.

This spectacular lava fountain, erupting from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on June 30, 1984, lasted just over 7 hours and reached a height of 318 m (1043 ft). It was one of 44 high lava fountains erupted during the first 3.5 years of Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing East Rift Zone eruption, which began in January 1983.

On March 6, 2011, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists were stationed along Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone to monitor the progression of erupting fissures that had opened west of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō the day before. Lava spewing from this fissure (background) reached heights up to 30 m (100 ft) and produced a massive lava flow, visible behind the HVO scientist.

Spattering is common in Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, and is often focused along the south lake margin. But occasionally, as happened today, numerous spattering sites can appear in the north part of the lake.

A close up of spattering in the western portion of the summit lava lake.

Crustal spreading zones leave bands of changing texture on the lava lake surface, highlighted by late afternoon sunlight.

More bands of differing surface texture adjacent to a spreading zone. In the lower right corner, an additional spreading zone is migrating north (toward the upper left in this photo) and has nearly intersected the other spreading zone.

Yesterday (Sunday, June 25) between 11:39 and 11:44 HST, firehose activity started at the ocean entry and continued for less than 10 minutes. A USGS time-lapse camera, which takes a photo every 5 minutes, captured this image at 11:44 and by 11:49 the firehose was replaced by a lava channel on the delta.

This photo from June 25 shows the established lava channel at 6:49 pm HST, hours after the firehose activity. Today (June 26) HVO observers did not see any active surface breakouts on the delta and the channel has tubed over, but some narrow streams of lava were spilling into the ocean.

Field-trip guides to selected volcanoes and volcanic landscapes of the western United States - overview map.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of May 31 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of June 21 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube (dashed where uncertain).

Thermal images collected during the overflight on Wednesday, June 21, show a hot crack spanning much of the width of the lava delta at the Kamokuna ocean entry. These cracks are common on lava deltas, and suggest sagging and instability at the front of the delta.

Left: A color-shaded bathymetry map of Lō‘ihi, a submarine volcano located southeast of the Island of Hawai‘i. The summit region is marked by pit craters formed in connection with an eruption and earthquake swarm in July-August 1996.

On June 13 at about 6:00 am, there was a new pāhoehoe breakout along the episode 61g tube system approximately 1.1 km (0.7 miles) from the vent. Today (June 21), geologists visiting the site found that the ground had been cracked and uplifted about 2 m (6.6 feet) where the breakout originated (center).

The ocean entry remains active and continues to increase the size of the Kamokuna lava delta. Today, activity was concentrated towards the western side of the delta (left center), and building outward in a narrow lobe. Surface flows on the delta over the past few weeks have covered most of the delta with new lava.

Jacob Lowenstern, Scientist in Charge of YVO 2002-2018