Lava temperatures in the 1959 Kilauea eruption and cooling lake

The 1959 summit eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, filled the crater of Kilauea Iki with a lake of lava 365 feet deep. Temperatures of the erupting basalt ranged between 1060° and 1190°C. Temperatures down a 12.7-foot-deep hole, drilled into the crust of the lake 5 months after cessation of eruptive activity, agree with calculated temperatures based on the heat equation. The cooling effect of rainfall is pronounced only in the upper 3½ feet of the crust.