Viewing conditions into Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō were exceptional today, providing...

Viewing conditions into Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater were exceptional today, providing clear views of the crater floor. This view is towards the northwest. The inner, deeper crater formed in mid-2014 following the opening of the June 27th vent, and occasional small flows on the crater floor are evident by their dark color. The smaller, circular pit in the west portion of the crater has contained a small, active lava pond in recent months. Very little of the original cone, formed in the early part of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption in the mid-1980s, remains visible on the surface. The tan colored area in the foreground, and the brown sections of the crater rim in the upper part of the photograph, are the original portions of the cone and consist of cinder and scoria.