Lava flows, then slows at Kilauea volcano

For a brief period on Nov.21, a vigorously spattering vent at the east end of Pu‘u ‘?‘? crater fed a swiftly moving river of lava that cascaded into the deeper portions of the crater. The cascade was over within about ten minutes of this photograph, but the vent continued to spatter.

A collapse of a thin portion of the roof over the lava tube reveals the lava stream beneath the surface in this Nov. 21 photo. The fluid stream is the bright orange color, with the dark orange area to the left representing the hot, incandescent tube wall. The lava stream last week was relatively slow moving in the tube, perhaps reflecting a low rate of lava supply to the flow front.


The ebb and flow of volcanic activity at Kilauea saw an increase in lava activity this weekend, followed by a drop in lava levels Sunday night, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports.