Kilauea’s lava lake overflows onto crater floor
COURTESY U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
The slowly rising lava lake at Kilauea’s summit was close to the rim of the Overlook crater, and floor of Halemaumau Crater late Saturday. The lava lake spilled out on to the floor of the crater in the last day.
COURTESY HAWAII VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
A view of Halemaumau Crater today shows lava overflowing onto the crater floor.
Lava from Kilauea’s summit lava lake has spilled out of the Overlook crater rim onto the floor of Halemaumau Crater “several times” in the past day, including this morning, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported today.
On Sunday the observatory noted a small overflow of the south crater rim at about midnight.
Earlier, officials noted that the summit lava lake was at its highest level in more than a year. The lake last overflowed in October 2016.
The flow does not pose a threat to nearby communities and the Halema‘uma‘u crater rim remains closed to the public due to ongoing volcanic hazards.
Meanwhile, the magma system beneath Puu Oo cone on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone has become increasingly pressurized, leading scientists to believe a new vent and lava flow may be imminent.
The observatory’s web site reported this morning that Puu Oo has continued its inflationary trend of the past several weeks.
>> Latest webcam photo courtesy of USGS.
