Bright Molten Lava Mounds and Double Ocean Entry Plumes

Waikupanaha Ocean Entry continues to display more pronounced side-by-side plumes, at times nearly the same intensity. These formed after last weeks major bench collapse; I will try to get a photo of this soon.

After-dark visitors standing at the county viewing area witnessed, from a distance, raw yellow-orange lava pouring off a sheer wall of rock (The cliff of older lava land left behind after the bench collapse). At times, entire sections of the cliffs broke off into the sea in a fiery explosion of sparks.

Inland from the ocean entry, surface lava breakouts are reappearing across a wide expanse of lavascape: from sea to upper pali to the north, and from highway 130’s trail head out southwest for nearly a mile. Around 9:00PM we watched large distant mounds extruding bright molten lava out their tops and running as rivers down their sides… it’s still hot out there!
Below is a daytime photo of one of these lava mounds.


The furthest surface flow to the southwest continues pouring into the sea, nearly 3000-feet from the end of highway 130’s trailhead.

Up under the Kilauea Volcano, USGS crater deformation sensors show continued magma pressure at a fairly steady rate, which may translate into lava movements through a labyrinth of surface and tube plumbing to remain at the current levels for the next twenty four hours or more.

Halema`uma`u Crater Vent Reveals Lava Pond Again ~ Aerial photo with Key Information

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory report their web cams and earthquake monitors recorded new activity within the Halema`uma`u vent cavity on the floor of the crater. A spattering lava pond became revealed very early this morning after the crust hiding the molten lava broke away. This might mean a much better nighttime view of the vent glowing red. A great vantage point for that is from the crater overlook platform on the backside of the Jaggar Museum. The park IS open all night and is free after about 5 or 6 PM.
I took the picture below of a glowing crater, moon & starlit sulfur dioxide plume scene from next to the Jaggar.


Last night out, under another full moon (seemed just as full as the night before!) at the viewing area off the Kalapana lava covered terminus of highway 130, molten pahoehoe was again seen glowing on the surface of previous flows after a few days without much visibly active surface lava. The ocean entry plume remained strong.

Below is a recent USGS aerial photo of the active lava zones. I have added text to point out key places of interest mentioned frequently in my posts here. (click on it to a see larger size)


Steady straight-down rains cover the entire east-southeast section of the Big Island this morning. Cool air from the north has pushed across all the islands and running into warm wet moisture from the southeast. We are digging out those blankets again at night. These showers will move on by and let some sun back in soon.

Lava Walkers Full Moonscape

The full moon over Kalapana rose as the sun was just setting.


Tour groups arrived to the viewing area trail head walking into sunset skies with a sunset moon at their backs.


Sue from Michigan reported from the coastal viewing area of witnessing some nice explosive fireworks blasting out from the ocean entry plume at Waikupanaha, which now has two side-by-side entry points. The planet Jupiter joined the full moon over Pele’s ongoing display last night. The photo below was before the second plume appeared.


Warm light winds and a nearly cloudless sky greeted us this morning; even our two big island volcanoes Mauna Loa & Kea were visible to their summits.

Surface flows of lava are now difficult to see at the viewing area even after dark, but that can change quickly at any time.

Surface Flows Near Viewing Area Subside – Distant Flow Enters Ocean

This photo is a close-up of pahoehoe breakout at night near the viewing area only a few days ago doing the roping, banding and twisting, so classic to this form of lava. (click on it to enlarge)

Newly deposited lava land that, again, only days ago covered the end of highway 130, bringing thousands out to witness it, has cooled a lot in the past day. The lava is still hot but crusted over with a shimmering iridescent gray (example below) and almost no visible molten breakouts.

Further to the southwest, out a mile across the coastal plains, a second hot line of surface lava has reached the sea and slowly pouring into it, not as far away as Kupapa`u but at a distance too far to witness from the designated viewing areas. Back in April to July of this year we had a second lava entry at Kupapa`u that looked like this photo below: Waikupamaha on left, Kupapa`u in the distance --


A nice video and write up by David Corrigan does a great job of showing what the ocean entry at Waikupanaha looks like from the coastal viewing area through his telephoto video lens on Friday night (30th). I saw David walk by my photo display booth on his way out to shoot the scene and would like to talk-story with him next time. He posts on Big Island Video News . com, which we appreciate and is linked below.

David’s video and article

Full moon tonight

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info

Pele's Halloween

(click on photos for larger size)
Pele (Pay-lay) our Hawaiian Volcano Goddess: She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land, likes offerings of items in her fiery colors, so a pumpkin seems to be a good choice.

Pele continues placing a new layer of rock across her previous creations between the Waikupanaha ocean entry shoreline and Pu`u O`o crater far up the mountain to the north.

Molten lava pahoehoe surface flows are now oozing across a very broad area of the coastal plains. The area between the base of the mountain pali and the shoreline being affected is probably close to a mile wide and mile long: from within 100 feet of the Civil Defense trailhead booths and Kupapa`u ocean entry (now quite for several months).

These new coastal plain flows will likely reach the sea at several locations in the days/weeks to come. The most westerly fingers of moving lava continue burning vegetation parallel to the trail leading out to the viewing area at the coast. So visitors are getting the spectacular experience of a fairly close look at Pele’s awesome power to create and destroy.

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info

To see what conditions are like out on the lava fields and visitor area right now, check out this recent video shot & edited by UHH Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV). I have met this team and they do an excellent job recording the lava activity. This October 28th, 2009 CSAV video shows pahoehoe lava break-out lobes and visitors watching the latest surface flows from the new viewing trailhead viewing area. This video will match my post reporting on the same day and location.

Last night the scene at both viewing areas was about the same as shown in that video. Yesterday and last night we watched more kipuka (small remnant forest & vegetative patches left behind by previous lava flows) glow and burst into flames as molten pahoehoe lava slowly moved into them.

On Monday I reported we had a tremendous show of explosive lava the night before. CSAV has a spectacular video of a 1994 coastal eruption event that looks identical to what we witnessed from the Civil Defense viewing area of the Waikupanaha ocean entry last Sunday night, Oct. 25th, 2009: littoral lava cone, bubble and sheet explosions of raw yellow molten lava.


Meanwhile up under the Kilauea Volcano there was a brief twelve hour deflation period, which may have caused some slowing of lava to the sea late last night. Inflation is slowly returning now.

This morning winds are light under mostly cloudy skies here on the most easterly tip of the Big Island. I have not been down to check surf conditions, but I cannot hear any surf this morning coming from the shoreline a mile away, so that may indicate small surf…. I know—a lame surf report but it is actually pretty accurate; I use the same method to determine if I should go surfing :) .... but for the official Hawaii surf report for today

Visible Molten Lava and Burning Forests – Threatens To Relocate Viewing Area

Above, visitors stand behind Civil Defense barricades and gaze out over an inferno of changing landscape. (click on images for larger size)

A large area directly below & beyond the Civil Defense trailhead booths, to the southwest, came alive again yesterday and into the evening with numerous breakouts of red-orange lava and remnant kipuka forest and vegetation fires. At times large patches for trees burst into huge balls of flame. The surface lava can be seen far out onto the active lava coastal plain, or flow field where the main tubes carry lava to the sea.

A continuing build up new lava close to the trailhead could easily force a closer and relocation of the current trailhead and viewing areas.

Near the end of the official lava viewing hours of operation last night, around 9:30 PM the winds switched direction from a lazy southeasterly to northwesterly; the air instantly smelled and tasted of sulfur dioxide and smoke from the molten lava and many forest fires. This would normally have called for an emergency closure and evacuation of the area but all visitors had just left at that time.

Winds along this section of the Big Island this morning are light and variable under completely overcast, and somewhat voggy, skies.

If you are planning a visit to see the active lava you might want to phone the Hawaii County Civil Defense hotline to check on closers before heading out: 961-8093



Yellow-hot lobes of pahoehoe are putting a new layer of land over other recent additions