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More reminders why the Halema‘uma‘u Crater area is closed
Two explosions in as many days were triggered by rocks falling into Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake. The event shown above occurred around 12:26 p.m., HST, today (Thursday, October 20). The other explosion happened around 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19. Both events are reminders why the area around Halema‘uma‘u Crater remains closed to the public.
Today's explosion, triggered by a rockfall from the south-southeast wall of the summit vent within Halema‘uma‘u Crater, blasted spatter (molten lava) and rock fragments on to the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, as well as on to the closed section of Crater Rim Drive, about a quarter-mile from the vent.
Following today's explosion, spatter (bit of molten lava) and fragments of solid rock littered this closed section of Crater Rim Drive in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This section of the road, adjacent to the former Halema‘uma‘u Crater parking area, has been closed since 2008 due to elevated sulfur dioxide emissions and other ongoing volcanic hazards, such as today's rockfall-triggered explosion.
Spatter and "ribbon bombs" (stretched fragments of molten lava) up to 30 cm (about 12 inches) long fell to the ground surface on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater during the two most recent explosions from Kīlauea's summit lava lake. The black, glassy lava fragment shown here, about the size of a standard donut, landed amidst smaller, solid pieces of rock blasted from the vent.
A marking pen is shown for scale to indicate the size of this solid rock fragment hurled from the vent during the explosion.
A close-up of spatter and rock fragments blasted from the summit vent during the recent explosions. These pieces of rock and lava, now scattered among the Pele's hair that blankets the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, remind us of the hazards that still exist in this area.
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