Several openings on the floor of the Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater and along the Peace Day flow tube system continue to degas profusely. The only visible lava, however, is the small lava lake confined to a pit on the northeastern side of the crater floor. The lava lake has been present for the last several months. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

The lava lake on the northeastern edge of the Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater floor is about 30 m (100 ft) across. It’s level rises and falls with changes in pressure in the magma storage body beneath Pu‘u ‘O‘o. Thursday (July 12), the lava lake was at a relatively low level, compared to its condition over the last few months. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse movie of the Peace Day Flow over the coastal plain and pali

(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

A lava lake within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent resulted in night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook during the past week. The lake has been about 60–80 m (200–260 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater and was visible by HVO’s Webcam through much of the last month. This past week, the level fluctuated slightly due to a deflation-inflation (DI) cycle at the summit and several gas-driven rise-fall cycles.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows on the pali and coastal plain continued to be active. Over the past week, the flow front has made no net advancement and has lingered near the boundary of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. As of Wednesday, July 11, the active flow front had retreated slightly and was 1.3 km (0.8 miles) from the water. There was no active ocean entry. Within Pu`u `O`o, a lava pond was active in the eastern portion of the crater.

One earthquake was reported felt under the island of Hawai`i in the past week. On Saturday, July 7, at 8:32 p.m., HST, a M3.1 earthquake occurred 3 km (2 mi) northwest of Pa`auilo at a depth of 11 km (7 mi).

Visit the HVO Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov

In addition to the active flows on the coastal plain, lava flows were also active on the pali and at the base of the pali. Pu‘u ‘O‘o and the Halemaumau plume are visible near the top of the image. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

Surface flows remain active on the coastal plain, but have retreated inland compared to their position last week. The active front is now about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) from the ocean. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse thermal imaging movie of the Halemaumau Overlook vent