An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Morning overflight of Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone by the Civil Air Patrol provides context for the location of the fissure 8 fountain and lava channel within the lower Puna District. View is to the north. Image courtesy of Civil Air Patrol.
The fissure 8 lava fountain pulses to heights of 50 m (165 ft) within a cinder spatter cone. Fissure 8 feeds lava into the well-established channel that flows to the ocean.
In this video taken from the Leilani Estates subdivision, lava at fissure 8 pulses above the cinder cone adding fragments of lava (spatter) that build the cone higher. From fissure 8, lava flows freely over small cascades (rapids) into a well-established channel. Near the vent, lava is traveling about 24 km per hour (15 mi per hour). Lava slows to about 2 km per hour (1.5 mi per hour) near the ocean entry at Kapoho.
Occasionally, minor amounts of lava briefly spill over the lava channel levees. The spill overs are the gray lobes along the channel margins. The lava flow field is relatively stable with little change to its size and shape over the past few days. View to the east, with the plume in the upper right showing the location of the ocean entry.
Lava enters the ocean entry in the vicinity of Vacationland, producing a vigorous laze plume. Lava flowing into the ocean has built a delta of flows, rock rubble and black sand, which is over 320 acres in size.
Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halema‘uma‘u continues in response to ongoing subsidence at the summit. Sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano's summit have dropped to levels that are about half those measured prior to the onset of the current episode of eruptive activity. This gas and minor amounts of ash are being transported downwind, with small bursts of ash and gas accompanying intermittent explosive activity. The view is from Volcano House, looking toward the west.
