Images

Just south of the Kalapana access road, active pahoehoe was pushing through thick vegetation, creating scattered brush fires and small methane bursts.

Flow expansion over the past day also covered most of the former lava viewing area near the Kalapana access road. The County has since relocated the viewing area farther east.

Flows reached the pavement where the former viewing gate near the Kalapana access road resided.

One of several lava streams on the shore of Kilauea volcano.

The ocean entry that started on April 29 continues, and has expanded in width.

Lava first touched the water at 12:15pm, and this photo shows the first finger of lava approaching the ocean.

Distant view looking north at the active flow as it crossing the coastal plain and approaches the ocean. Houses in the Kalapana Gardens subdivision are visible to the right. The lava tube feeding lava to the flow front is delineated by the points of fume at upper left.

View looking south at the currently active flow crossing the coastal plain west of Kalapana. The new flow is the silvery lava crossing the photo from lower right to top center where the flow front is burning vegetation. The end of Hwy 130 is visible at upper left.

View looking back to the north at the terminus of the active flow as it approaches the forested kipuka at the center of the photo. Hwy 130 is at upper right. The old ocean entry viewing area, open from 2008 to early 2010, is visible near the bottom of the photo just to the right of center.

Zoomed-in view of the current visitor viewing area at the end of Hwy 130.

Lava, on its southward journey to the ocean, crossed and buried the County lava viewing trail. The viewing area was relocated a short distance back from the flow margin.

A 3 meter (10 ft) high cascade feeds lava into an old quarry at the end of the Kalapana access road, within view of the County viewing area.

This comparison of thermal images over the coastal plain shows the advancement of the active flows over the past week. At the top, a normal photograph from April 15 gives reference. The middle frame, from April 15, shows that the flows were approaching the bottom of the pali last week.

This photo shows the ropey texture of a recently crusted pahoehoe flow, as well as its superior strength as a natural insulator. The crack is still glowing hot but the lava is no longer moving under the crust.

A tree goes up in flames as the lava moves further into the kipuka. Looking closely, you can see the ash from the tree in the smoke column.

Lava flow activity continues to burn vegetation in the kipuka adjacent to the trail, causing the viewing trail to be closed beyond the trailhead. The new viewing area is still very close to the active flows.

Surface flows on the coastal plain were active a couple hundred meters (yards) from the current viewing trail at the end of Highway 130. The flows are burning along the margin of a large kipuka mauka of the viewing trail.

While much of this lava flow stayed along the margin of the kipuka, a few lobes ventured into the vegetation.

Photograph of the eruption from the summit of Eyjafjallajökull from the north looking to the south across the Gígjökull outlet glacier, its "missing" proglacial (ice-margin) lake caused by the jökulhlaup that filled in the lake. 

Original image can be found at: http://www.examiner.com/article/mother-nature-one-ups-scientists-no-cle…

An HVO geologist takes a sample of active lava within a lava tube. The fluid lava sticks to the heavy hammer head at the end of the cable when it is lowered into the swiftly moving lava stream. These samples are analyzed routinely to track changes in lava chemistry.