Images

Looking into the sun, as in this photo from the Ka‘ū Desert, Pele's hair has a golden sheen impossible to describe or photograph adequately. The scene often resembles a mowed field of "amber waves of grain." But, looking away from the sun, one sees almost nothing, certainly no color and not even much hair without close observation. USGS photo.

Two explosions in as many days were triggered by rocks falling into Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake. The event shown above occurred around 12:26 p.m., HST, today (Thursday, October 20). The other explosion happened around 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19. Both events are reminders why the area around Halema‘uma‘u Crater remains closed to the public.

Following today's explosion, spatter (bit of molten lava) and fragments of solid rock littered this closed section of Crater Rim Drive in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

On Saturday, October 15, Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake overflowed the vent rim between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., and again around 6:30 p.m., HST. In this image, captured by HVO's K2 webcam, you can see small spill-overs (shiny black lava) on the east (far left) and west (right) sides of the vent rim.

Damage along Hawaii Belt Road at Kawaili Bridge, near Paauilo, following the Kīholo Bay and Māhukona earthquakes of October 15, 2006. USGS photo.

Using the telephoto feature on a point-and-shoot camera (from the same location as the left photo), this image captured lava streaming into the ocean at the leading edge of the lava delta.

This skylight, a "window" into the active lava tube that carries lava from the vent to the sea, is located inland of the Kamokuna ocean entry. It is a sobering reminder why visitors are encouraged to remain outside the closed area, which Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has cordoned off with a rope line and warning signs.

With brisk trade winds today, spectacular views of Kīlauea Volcano's eastern Kamokuna lava delta were possible from outside the closed area on the east, or Kalapana, side of the ocean entry.

It is possible to see the skylight without entering the closed area, and with a camera or smart phone, you can zoom in for more detail, as shown in this image.

Another collapse feature and skylight along the lava tube that feeds the Kamokuna ocean entry, underscoring the hazards associated with active lava tubes and the need to remain outside the closed area.

A telephoto image of the skylight, captured without entering the closed area. Note the sagging lava surface in the foreground, an indication of just how unstable this area is.

This video clip shows typical spattering activity in Kīlauea's summit lava lake. This spattering was occurring along the eastern margin of the lake on the evening of October 5.

This photograph shows spattering at the southeast margin of Kīlauea's summit lava lake, as viewed from the west. This is the most common area on the lake to have spattering, but, because it is almost directly below the camera location, it is not visible in our webcam images.

The KALAHIKIOLA Congregational Church in KAP‘A‘āU was extensively damaged on October 15, 2006, by two earthquakes (magnitudes 6.7 and 6.0) off the northwest coast of Hawai‘i Island. The earthquakes were felt throughout the State of Hawaii, but the greatest damage occurred in the North Kona and Kohala Districts of the Island of Hawai‘i.

This morning, spattering along the eastern margin of Kīlauea's summit lava lake built an overhanging ledge that was attached to the Overlook Crater wall. In this image, a few long stalactites can be seen dangling from the overhang (lower right). These stalactites were flexible enough to be swinging back and forth.

This satellite image was captured on Thursday, September 29, by the NASA/USGS Landsat 8 satellite. Although this is a false-color image, the color map has been chosen to mimic what the human eye would expect to see. Bright red pixels depict areas of very high temperatures and show active lava. White areas are clouds.

This video shows spattering in two locations of Kīlauea's summit lava lake. In the first segment, spattering is active in a small area in the southern portion of the lake. In the second segment, spattering on the east margin of the lake has created an overhanging ledge with dangling lava stalactites.

Left: Photo of the eastern delta showing the cracks parallel to the sea cliff. The delta is about 350-400 m (1150-1300 ft) wide and it extends about 150 m (490 ft) out from the old sea cliff. Deltas are unstable, and prone to collapse, because they are built on unconsolidated lava fragments.

Another view of the larger skylight, about 5 m or 16 ft across, showing the thin roof on the tube in this area. This image is a reminder of the hazard of approaching skylights.

Lava continues to flow into the ocean at Kamokuna, however this afternoon there was no noticeable plume at the western delta (upper left). The eastern delta (center) is larger, with lava continuing to enter the ocean. A relatively small area of surface breakouts is active on the coastal plain about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) upslope from the ocean entry.

A large skylight was open today on the 61g upper flow field. This morning, only the narrow skylight on the left was open. Hours later the larger area collapsed and exposed more of the swiftly moving lava stream in the tube. In this image, the skylight is about 5 m or 16 feet wide.