The flow remains active on the pali and coastal plain, with scattered breakouts of pāhoehoe lava. Over the past week, however, the leading tip of the flow has advanced only a short distance. Today, the flow front was 850 m (0.5 miles) from the ocean. In this photograph, the current lava flow is the lighter color area in the center of the photo. Photo taken Tuesday, July 19, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Only a few short sections of road in Royal Gardens subdivision remain uncovered by lava. In this kipuka, about 200 m (220 yards) of Orchid Street is still exposed. Photo taken Tuesday, July 19, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO

This photograph looks downslope at the uppermost section of the Episode 61g flow. The vent is in the lower left corner of the photo. Several collapses have occurred over the lava tube, and the trace of the tube can be seen by the fuming sources extending downslope. Photo taken Tuesday, July 19, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO

The large hole on the northeast flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō remains open, providing a view of forked lava streams. Since the last overflight on Friday, July 15, the lava streams have started to crust over, reducing the glow in the pit. Photo taken Tuesday, July 19, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Wednesday, July 20,2016 U.S. Geological Survey/Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Kilauea Volcano Status

Activity Summary: Eruptive activity continues at Kīlauea Volcano’s summit and East Rift Zone. The 61G lava flow extending southeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō towards the ocean remains active but poses no threat to nearby communities. As of early last evening, the flow tip was stalled about ~850 m (0.5 miles) from the ocean. The lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater continues to circulate and intermittently spatter. Seismicity and deformation rates throughout the volcano remain at background levels.

Summit Observations: The lava lake within the HalemaÊ»umaÊ»u Overlook crater remains active and was measured at 48 m (130 ft) below the crater rim on Monday July 18, 2016. Based on analysis of web camera images, the level has changed little in the last 24 hours. Tiltmeters at KÄ«lauea’s summit recorded inflationary tilt. Seismicity is within normal, background rates with tremor fluctuations associated with lava lake spattering. The summit sulfur dioxide emission rate ranged from 3,700 to 7,300 metric tons/day.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: Webcam images over the past 24 hours show persistent glow at long-term sources within the crater. There were no significant changes in seismicity or tilt over the past 24 hours. The sulfur dioxide emission rate from all East Rift Zone vents on July 15 was about 270 metric tons/day.

Lava Flow Observations: The 61G lava flow extending southeast of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō towards the coastal plain on KÄ«lauea’s south flank remains active. On Monday evening, the flow tip was inactive but breakouts were active within a few hundred meters (yards) upslope. A field crewed visited the flow field and noted the flow front was approximately 710 m (0.4 miles) from the coastal emergency road and 850 m (0.5 miles) from the ocean. Areas of incandescence remain visible in overnight webcam views of the active lava flow field, marking lava tube skylights and areas of active lava on the pali and along the flow as it extends towards the coast.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of July 8 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as mapped on July 19 is shown in red. Older Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray.
The blue lines over the PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō flow field are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 2013 digital elevation model (DEM), while the blue lines on the rest of the map are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 DEM (for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth’s surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The base map is a partly transparent 1:24,000-scale USGS digital topographic map draped over the 1983 10-m digital elevation model (DEM).