Kilauea Eruption On Big Island Of Hawaii Hits Spectacular High Point
One of the world's most active volcanoes put on a dazzling weekend show as Hawaii's Kilauea impressed onlookers with fountains of lava reaching heights of 1,000 feet in the air according to the US Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. This represents some of the highest and most dramatic such fountaining action seen in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in decades.
This latest episode in Kilauea's ongoing eruption started in Halemaʻumaʻu crater at 4:15 p.m. HST on Sunday and ended abruptly at 10:25 p.m., according to USGS. The agency marks this as episode 23 in an eruptive pattern that started in December and has been marked by periods of lava fountaining
'Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days,' the USGS explained on its website.
In addition to the bright orange lava fountains that make for a dramatic spectacle and wildly shareable social media content, the eruption also sent ash and other material like scoria and so-called Pele's hair nearly a mile into the atmosphere.
'Pele's hair is strands of volcanic glass often produced by lava fountaining activity,' the USGS says. 'Once they are on the ground, Pele's hair can sometimes cluster and tangle together, giving it the appearance of a tumbleweed… Residents and visitors should minimize exposure to Pele's hair and other volcanic fragments, which can cause skin and eye irritation.'
The volcano observatory maintains three livestreams from the summit of Kilauea, including this one:
So far, the eruptive fountaining activity remains confined to the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, rather than the more distant rift zones, where substantial eruptions in the previous decade did considerable damage to nearby communities.
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