Images

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.

View looking north-northwest at the flow field on the coastal plain. The light-colored flows at the center of the image are active. Surface activity is relatively weak, and the flows are making little, if any, headway toward the ocean. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is visible faintly through the haze at the upper right side of the photo.

View looking east at the lava lake, 40-m (130-ft) across, that circulates within a shallow pit on the northeast side of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The heavy fume in the background is the trace of the lava tube that carries lava downslope to the active flows near the coast.

Preview image for video: shows spattering that is typical at the margins of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The slow migration of the lava lake surface is normally towards the area of spattering, where the lava sinks back into the magmatic system. Spatter in this clip is being thrown about 5-10 meters (yards) in height.

Map of the summit area of Kīlauea showing the location of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent, and road and trail closures in response to the eruption. Kīlauea's caldera is located within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Pele's hair covers much of the ground in the area immediately downwind of the vent at Halema‘uma‘u crater. Accumulations about a meter (yard) wide are found on the windward sides of the curbs in the Halema‘uma‘u parking lot, which is closed to the public because of the ongoing volcanic hazard.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.