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COURTESY USGS
The active west vent inside Kilauea’s Halemaumau Crater is shown on Jan. 1.
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The eruption that started Dec. 20 at the Kilauea summit continued to flow into 2021.
Lava activity remained confined to Halemaumau Crater, with no seismic or deformation data to indicate that magma is moving into either of Kilauea’s rift zones, according to the latest Hawaiian Volcano Observatory observations.
Vents on the northwest side of the crater were spattering Saturday while erupting lava flowed through crusted-over channels into the lava lake, now about 82 acres in size and about 620 feet deep with a narrow black ledge around it, HVO said.
A 7-acre island of cooler, solidified lava continues to float in the lava lake, rising about 20 feet above the surface of the lake, according to HVO. The island drifted to the west before settling in front of the one of lava sources filling the lake. Ten or so smaller islands remained relatively stationary around the east end of the lake.
Seismicity remained elevated but stable Saturday, with a few minor earthquakes, HVO said.