Spectacular Footage Shows New Lava Flows From Hawaii’s Big Island Kilauea Volcano [Video]


Fresh, fast-moving lava flows broke out on Hawaii’s Big Island Kilauea volcano last week following a period of intense inflation and dramatic rise in the lava lake at the summit.

The volcano, located on the southern shore of the island, is one of the most active shield volcanoes in the world and also the most active of five volcanoes that constitute the entire volcanic archipelago.

Kilauea volcano, which was between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago but believed to have risen above sea level only about 100,000 years ago, has a recently formed caldera at its summit and two active rift zones.

The first rift zone, known as the East Rift Zone, extends about 125 kilometers east from the volcano’s main crater on the Hawaii Island to a depth of 16,000 feet on the ocean floor.

The other rift zone extends 35 kilometers west.

Red hot lava began oozing down from the volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent in the East Rift Zone on May 24.

In addition to Halema’uma’u, Kilauea’s main caldera at the summit, the volcano consists of multiple fissures and vents that have been undergoing decades-long simmering activity. The low-intensity activity has involved the outpouring of lava from the volcano’s vents or cones and through multiple fissures with minimal explosive power.

During a fissure eruption, magma makes it way to the surface through thin linear cracks in the crust that could be several kilometers long.

The decades-long, low-intensity activity explains the native name of the volcano, Kilauea.

Kilauea, in Hawaiian language, translates as “spewing,” or “much spreading,” in reference to the frequent outpouring of lava form the volcano.

The latest activity involves two major breakouts of lava flow. The first extends to the northwest of the Pu’u O’o vent and the other to the southeast. Both flows are less than a kilometer in length and do not pose a threat to the neighboring communities.

Lava flow
Volcanic lava flow [Image via Shutterstock]

There have been multiple fissure eruptions along the volcano’s East Rift Zone during the last 250 years. But the ongoing series of eruptions began on January 3, 1983, when the Eastern Rift Zone produced lava fountains that spilled down the volcano’s slopes and created the Pu’u O’o cone.

The current activity, after more than three decades, is considered the eruption with the longest duration on record for Kilauea.

The latest lava flows, which began on May 24, consist of two fresh flows originating from the Pu’u O’o vent of the volcano.

The first flow extends northwest, while the second flow extends southeast.

The breakouts provided an opportunity for aerial videography, with helicopters flying over the volcano to capture spectacular footage of red hot lava cascading down the slopes of the volcano over extensive fields of black lava rock.

Although the latest breakouts are not unusual in intensity, spectacular aerial footage of the flows uploaded online has gone viral.

Footage of the latest eruptions taken from a helicopter passing overhead gives a bird’s eye-view of an awesome natural event. The channels of lava cascading down the slopes of the volcano are more than 30 feet wide.

Although the latest flows pose no threat to neighboring communities, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), flows from Pu’u O’o have caused concern for residents of Hawaii’s Big Island in the past.

Lava flows from Pu’u O’o in 2014 destroyed a home and threatened neighboring communities.

The latest bout of activity at Kilauea comes as the Piton de la Fournaise (“Peak of the Furnace”), another active shield volcano on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, recorded its first eruption this year.

The eruption at Piton de la Fournaise’ southwestern side, near the Chateau Fort cone, was caused by magma pushing to the surface that opened a new fissure. The eruption occurred a few hours after volcanic tremors were reported.

The last previous eruption at Piton de la Fournaise occurred in August-October 2015.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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