Videos

Movie showing spattering near the south edge of Kīlauea's summit lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u.

Kilauea's summit lava lake in Halema'uma'u Crater has been at a high level over the past several days, with the lake surface just 8 meters (26 feet) below the floor of Halema'uma'u this evening. The high level has provided clear views of spatter from the public overlook at Jaggar Museum.

This video clip, filmed on August 12, 2016, shows a typical pāhoehoe breakout on Kīlauea Volcano's "61g" lava flow (actual speed).

This aerial video footage, filmed by USGS in late July 2016, features Kīlauea Volcano's summit vent within Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

The lava flow southeast of Pu'u 'Ō'ō reached the ocean overnight at about 1:15 am. The narrow lobe of lava spilling over the sea cliff has built a tiny delta at the shore, with a weak ocean entry plume.

Stunning 4K aerial and ground b-roll of the Kīlauea Volcano Halemaʻumaʻu Crater Summit Vent Lava Lake taken between July 24 and July 31, 2016. 

The lava flow southeast of Pu'u 'Ō'ō continues to advance downslope, and has crossed roughly half of the coastal plain. Upslope of the flow front there was still some 'a'ā activity, with several small open channels on the pali. The front of the flow was 1.7 km (1.1 miles) from the ocean today.

The lava flow southeast of Pu'u 'Ō'ō continues to advance downslope, and has begun crossing the coastal plain. The leading portion of the flow now consists ot pāhoehoe, shown in this video. Upslope of the flow front there was still some 'a'ā activity, with a few small open channels on the pali.

The lava flow southeast of Pu'u 'Ō'ō continues to advance downslope, and reached the base of the pali yesterday. The leading portion of the flow still consists of narrow channelized 'a'ā streaming down the steep part of the pali.

The lava flow southeast of Pu'u 'Ō'ō continues to advance downslope, and was reaching the base of the pali today. Although the malority of the flow activity is pāhoehoe, the fast-moving flow front IS channe ized 'a'ā. The leading tip of the flow is burning vegetation in a kīpuka.

The lava flow southeast of Pu'u 'Ō'ō continues to advance downslope, and is now progressing down the pali. The flow is following the eastern boundary of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, and the western boundary of the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision. Although the majority of the flow activity is pāhoehoe, the fast-moving flow front is channelized 'a'ā.

The lava lake at Kilauea's summit has risen over the past few days, providing improved views of the lake activity. Spattering along the southern lake margin was vi orous this evening, but within the range of normal activity for the la e. Spatter was thrown as high as the Halema'uma'u Crater floor, about 25 m (80 ft) above the lake surface.

The two breakouts that began at Pu'u 'Ō'ō on May 24 are still active. This morning, the active portions of both flows remained relatively short, extending no more than 1 km (0.6 miles) from their breakout points. The eastern breakout, shown here, was developing a lava tube. A collapse in the roof of the tube provided a view of the lava stream.

Video of spattering along the north margin of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake.

The two breakouts that began at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō yesterday (May 24) are still active. This morning, the active portions of both flows remained relatively short, extending no more than 1 km (0.6 miles) from their breakout points.

Two new breakouts at Pu`u `Ō`ō began this morning just before 7:00 a.m., HST. The larger of the two breakouts, shown here, originated from the northeast flank of the cone, and fed a vigrous channelized flow that extended about 1 km (0.6 miles) towards the northwest.

The crater floor at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has recently experienced minor uplift due to inflation within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. The crater floor uplift is subtle, and probably no more than about 1 meter (3 feet) since May 15. Small, hot cracks have appeared on the crater floor during the uplift.

Breakouts remained scattered northeast of Pu`u `Ō`ō, on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone. This breakout was one of many on the flow field today. The breakout was fairly vigorous at this time as geologists encountered it just moments after it started.

A small vent in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater throws spatter a short distance, building up a small cone around its opening. A thick layer of Pele's hair covers the downwind part of the cone. This vent was also the source of a small lava flow erupted on the crater floor in the past day.

This movie, created from a sequence of HVO webcam images, shows lava erupting from a spatter cone within the south embayment in the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater (see February 24 image below for location). The activity started around 8:15 a.m., HST, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, and covered part of the crater floor before ceasing at about 3:00 p.m.

A rockfall on the east rim of the summit vent within Kīlauea Volcano's Halema‘uma‘u Crater triggered a small explosive event at 3:51 a.m., HST, on January 8, 2016. Explosive events like this occur more frequently when the lava lake level is relatively high, as it has been this past week—around 30-35 m (100-115 ft) below the vent rim.