Images

North side of the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater, marked by large cracks and large blocks that have slumped into the crater.

Halema‘uma‘u viewed toward the west during the June 18 helicopter overflight. HVO and Jaggar Museum can barely be seen on the caldera rim in the upper right of the photograph.

Fissure 8 lava flows in an open channel all the way to the ocean. Kapoho Crater is the vegetated hill on the right side of the photograph. Ocean entry plume seen in the distance.

Map as of 9:00 a.m. HST, June 18, 2018. Given the dynamic nature of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption, with changing vent locations, fissures starting and stopping, and varying rates of lava effusion, map details shown here are accurate as of the date/time noted. Shaded purple areas indicate lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

Fissure 8 lava flows in an open channel all the way to the ocean. Kapoho Crater is the vegetated hill on the right side of the photograph.

Fissure 8 cone and channelized lava flow.

Fissure 6 (photo center) showed signs of activity overnight, producing small amounts of spatter and feeding short lava flows. Fissure 6 is located about 2.2 km (1.4 mi) downrift from Fissure 8.

An overflight of Kīlauea's summit on June 18 showed the continued dramatic slumping and collapse of the Halema‘uma‘u crater area. This photo shows the area north-northwest of Halema‘uma‘u near a GPS station, North Pit. This station has subsided about 60 m (197 ft) in the past week.

North side of the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater, marked by large cracks and large blocks that have slumped into the crater.

An HVO geologist uses a thermal camera to measure the temperature (about 93 degrees C or 200 degrees F) of a ground crack near fissure 9.

During the helicopter overflight on June 18, crews captured this image of the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater viewed to the southeast.

An HVO geologist uses a thermal camera to measure the temperature (about 93 degrees C or 200 degrees F) of a ground crack near fissure 9.

An overflight of Kīlauea's summit on June 18 showed the continued dramatic slumping and collapse of the Halema‘uma‘u crater area. This photo shows the area north-northwest of Halema‘uma‘u near a GPS station, North Pit. This station has subsided about 60 m (197 ft) in the past week. 

An animated GIF showing lava bubbling out of fissure 8 at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. Clip is taken from the full b-roll video listed as the source.

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.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist measures the height of the growing tephra cone around fissure 8 during Kīlauea Volcano's 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption.

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.

Fissure 8 continues to erupt, feeding lava to a perched channel that extends to the coast. The white laze plume at the distant ocean entry is visible just to the left of the gases rising from the fissure 8 cone (lower right).

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.

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.