The current active lava flow (named “61g”) from Hawaii's Kīlauea Volcano began as an eruption in May, and has spent months making its way to the shoreline. The flow reached the water in late July, and has now forged several entry points near near Kamokuna. The current flow is not a threat to any local communities, largely following previous lava flow paths. As geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory track the progress of the flow, visitors have been making the hike, or taking sightseeing boats, to view the ocean entry of 61g. Kīlauea has been continuously erupting since January of 1983.
Lava Flows From Hawaii's Kīlauea Volcano
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Read moreOn June 28, 2016, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) geologist photographs the front of a channelized ʻaʻā lava flow as it burns scrub and trees bordering an older flow. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreA close view of lava flow, looking into a 'skylight' about 6 meters, or 20 feet, across. The lava stream is flowing to the upper right. #
Tim Orr / HVO / USGS -
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Read moreThe flow front reached the base of a small cliff, burning vegetation in the adjacent kipuka (an area of land surrounded by younger lava flows). #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreAn HVO geologist collects a fresh lava sample for chemical analysis on June 23, 2016. The lobe being sampled was typical of the many scattered pāhoehoe breakouts along the flow margin today. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreThe flow front was supplied by a narrow channelized section on the steep portion of the pali, photographed on June 29, 2016. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreClose view of ʻaʻā blocks in the channel of the flow on June 28, 2016. #
Liliana DeSmither / HVO / USGS -
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Read moreA look into one of several skylights on the lava tube on June 30, 2016. #
Lil DeSmither / HVO / USGS -
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Read moreHVO geologists in the field overnight observed lava crossing a stretch of land between the "emergency" gravel road and the sea cliff. This photograph shows the flow front a short time before lava reached the ocean on July 26, 2016. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreThe summit lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater continuously circulates, with lava upwelling on one side of the lake and downwelling on the opposite side, often resulting in vigorous spattering (bright spot on left side of lake), photographed on July 27, 2016 #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreThe active lava flow on Kīlauea Volcano's south flank providing wonderful lava-viewing experiences for Park visitors, on July 25, 2016. A section of the road can be seen here, with fume from the active lava tube in the far distance behind it, and the active flow front in the foreground. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreThe Kamokuna ocean lava flow entry continues, and is approximately 250 m (820 ft) wide at the point of entry, on August 5, 2016. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreLava cuts across a road, flowing into the ocean on July 29, 2016. The ocean entries are adding lava to the rubble at the bottom of the sea cliff. Black sand—formed by the interaction of hot lava and cool seawater, as well as by wave erosion of the rocky cliff—is also accumulating along the coastline. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreVolcano monitoring equipment installed on the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater was a casualty of an explosive event. This pile of charred wires and metal components, surrounded by melted plastic, is all that remains of the power supply for one of HVO's gravity instruments located about 24 m (80 ft) from the crater rim. #
Tim Orr / HVO / USGS -
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Read moreClose-up view of lava streaming into the sea at the eastern Kamokuna ocean entry on Kīlauea. #
HVO / USGS -
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Read moreA school bus being used as a homestead sits on private property atop a former lava flow from Kilauea, near Volcanoes National Park in Kalapana, Hawaii, on August 8, 2016. People who lost their homes to previous lava flows have begun rebuilding on top of the hardened lava rock. The current lava flow a few miles away erupted from a vent on the volcano in May and made its way to the sea in late July. Visitors can hike about 10 miles round trip to see the lava, or take a boat or helicopter tour to see the flow. #
Caleb Jones / AP -
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Read moreIn this August 8, 2016 photo, visitors look at lava from Kilauea, an active volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, as it flows toward the ocean in Volcanoes National Park. #
Caleb Jones / AP -
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Read moreLava from Kilauea flows toward the ocean on August 8, 2016. #
Caleb Jones / AP -
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Read morePhotographer Josh Heidebrecht, of Huntington Beach, California, takes pictures of lava from Kilauea on August 8, 2016. #
Caleb Jones / AP -
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Read moreLava from Kilauea flows into the ocean as seen from a boat operated by Lava Ocean Tours off the coast of Volcanoes National Park on August 9, 2016. #
Caleb Jones / AP -
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Read moreVisitors hike onto a lava flow from Kilauea, near Kalapana, Hawaii, on August 8, 2016. #
Caleb Jones / AP
