Images

At fissure 8, fountains provide a vigorous supply of lava that exits the cinder cone and drops over a spillway to enter a well-established lava channel that extends to the sea.

On June 24 a small ash-poor steam plume rose above the Halema‘uma‘u crater rim following another collapse explosion event at 4:12 p.m. HST (image taken at 4:27 p.m.).

On June 23, 2018 at 4:32 p.m. HST after approximately 17 hours of elevated seismicity, a collapse explosion occurred at the summit if Kīlauea. The energy released by the event was equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake.

USGS field crews track activity in and around Leilani Estates in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone. Observations are also collected on a daily basis from cracks in the area of Highway 130, shown here (no changes in temperature, crack width, or gas emissions have been noted recently).

The spatter cone at fissure 8 is now about 55 m (180 ft) tall. Lava fountains rise only occasionally above that point, sending a shower of 

This animated GIF shows a timelapse sequence consisting of one image per day between June 13 and 24. The photos were taken from the southern caldera rim, near Keanakāko‘i Crater, and look north towards HVO and Jaggar Museum.

Lava is entering the sea on the southern side of the entry area primarily through the open channel, but also along a 1 km (0.6 mi) wide area. The entry areas are marked by billowing laze plumes.

Aerial view of lava fountain at Fissure 8 and uppermost lava channel during an early morning overflight of the lava flow&nbs

On June 23, 2018 at 4:32 p.m. HST after approximately 17 hours of elevated seismicity, a collapse explosion occurred at the summit if Kīlauea. The energy released by the event was equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake.

Geologists captured this time-lapse video of the perched lava channel issuing from fissure 8 on Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone.

Early morning view of the open lava channelbeginning about 5 km (3.1 miles) from Fissure 8.

Halema'uma'u crater at 8:30 a.m., view is toward the south. Several benches are clearly visible within the crater.

Lava continues to erupt at a high rate from Fissure 8 and flow within the established channel to the ocean. No channel overflows were observed during this morning's overflight.

Early morning view of the ocean entry. The lava fountain from fissure 8 is visible behind the laze plume rising from the entry point. The open lava flowchannel is visible just beyond the solidified darker flows in the foreground.

At a wide point in the channelized lava flow, a ropy crust has formed over the more fluid lava below.

The USGS UAS (unoccupied aircraft system) team took this photograph of Halema‘uma‘u Crater from the Kīlauea Overlook on this morning. They are preparing for a flight to map further subsidence at the summit.

Fissure 8 continues building a tephra cone and producing a robust channelized lava flow on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone.

View of the southern edge of the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater (middle right) during yesterday's helicopter-assisted work at Kīlauea's summit. The once-popular parking lot (closed since 2008) that provided access to Halema‘uma‘u is no longer—the parking lot fell into the crater this past week as more and more of the Kīlauea Crater floor slides into Halema‘uma‘u.

Lava from fissure 8 travels about 13 km (8 mi) to the ocean in an open channel. Lava remains incandescent (glowing orange) throughout its journey. The ocean entry is at upper right.

HVO geologist measures 260 degrees C (500 degrees F) along ground cracks near fissure 10 in Leilani Estates. Geologists routinely make temperature measurements to track changes throughout the fissure complex in the lower East Rift Zone.

Geologist makes early morning observations of the lava fountain and channelized flow at fissure 8 in Leilani Estates.