Images

Spatter being ejected from the newly formed vent.

The lava pond in the vent cavity of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent during the rise phase of a rise/fall cycle. In this photo, the lava pond is 95 m (312 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater. When the pond level is high there is very little fume, allowing for unusually clear views.

A small lava flow erupted from the septum between two vents on the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on Sunday, February 6. The hole on the right, which is no longer active, was the original east wall vent. The fuming hole behind the new lava flow is the current east wall vent.

Flows from the more northerly vent are crossing a small portion of the crater floor and filling in the southern opening.

A close-up of the northeast vent in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, spattering and sending lava flows into the crater.

Overflows from the lava pond in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō have nearly leveled the crater floor with the perched pond. The floor of the crater is now 39 m (128 ft) below the east rim.

Photo of vigorous boiling of the lava surface in Kīlauea's summit vent following vent wall and rim collapses earlier in the day. The rim of the vent on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u is about 150 m (yards) across. The lava surface is about 100 m (yards) below the rim.

Lava began erupting from the septum between the two openings on the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater the morning of February 17, just after 7:00 am.

A view looking south at this morning's new breakout. The southern opening is completely filled in and the flows are expanding across the crater floor. The geologist on the opposite rim is 1.8 m (6 feet) tall.

The northeast vent on the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is once again producing lava flows that are repaving portions of the crater floor. The fuming area on the back wall is the main source of last week's activity in the crater.

View looking north across new and active flows, light gray in color, on the coastal plain west of Kalapana Gardens subdivision.

View looking southeast at new flows, light gray in color, just west of Kalapana Gardens subdivision.

Breakouts remain active near Kalapana, with vigorous activity situated approximately 630 meters (0.4 miles) west of the end of the Kalapana access road. This breakout, just south of a partially burned kipuka, was cascading into a small depression on the flow field.

Near-vertical view down into the Overlook vent collapse crater. The partly destroyed visitor overlook is at lower right. The gray surface of the lava lake at the bottom of the pit is faintly visible through fume. North is toward the top of the photo.

A new ocean entry started overnight, fed by a western branch of the active flow. The light gray-colored new flow shows up well in the cloud shadow at left edge of the photo. An eastern branch of the flow continues to advance slowly toward Kalapana Gardens, which is visible at the upper right.

This composite image combines a thermal image with a normal photograph of the coastal plain and pali. The active flow field is split into several lobes, and this image shows the eastern lobe that has been approaching Kalapana Gardens subdivision. Active lava has reached the end of the paved access road, where the County lava viewing area is.

A close-up view of the small ocean entry from the eastern branch of lava flows near Kalapana.

This week, the northwest vent was producing lava flows on the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The northeast cone is in the background, as well as the small lava flow that ran down the east wall of the crater.

A new rootless shield is building along the TEB tube above the pali. Lava began erupting in the area on February 4, and has built up a shield and lava pond about 10 m (33 ft) high.

A closer view of the recent activity from the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater.

After recovering from last week's DI event, the lava surface in the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent returned to about 80 m (260 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The north/northwest rim of the vent (right side of photo) is still noticeably overhung, making future collapses very likely.