There’s new activity at Puu Oo crater.
There’s new activity at Puu Oo crater.
On Friday morning, lava broke out at four locations on the crater’s northeast flank, producing a channel flow that had traveled nearly a mile as of 11 a.m. that day.
The northeast flow remained active Saturday morning, geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported.
The event began when the crater floor subsided, causing a collapse of spatter cones, which revealed small lava ponds inside.
Geologists attributed the event to magma accumulating in a mostly horizontal layer about 1,640 feet below the crater, located along Kilauea’s east rift zone.
The new flow may have had an impact on the Kahaualea 2 flow, which extends 4.4 miles northeast of the crater, according to HVO.
“From this morning’s webcam views, it’s clear that the flow is still hot but is far less active than prior to the June 27 collapse,” the observatory reported Saturday. “We should know with more certainty over the next few days whether the Kahaualea 2 flow has stalled.”
For more information, visit hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php.