Spectacular photo showing onset of eruption / VolcanoDiscovery

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Kilauea volcano

Shield volcano 1277 m (4,190 ft)
Hawai’i, 19.41°N / -155.29°W
Current status: erupting (4 out of 5)

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Kilauea volcano eruptions:
Near-continuous eruptions. Since 1960: 1961 (4x), 1962, 1963 (2x), 1965 (2x), 1967-68, 1968 (2x), 1969, 1969-74, 1971 (2x), 1973 (2x), 1974 (3x), 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 (2x), 1983-2018 (incl. 1986, 1992, 1997, 2007, 2011 (3x)), 2018 (lower east rift zone in Leilani subdivision), 2020 (Dec) – ongoing
Typical eruption style:
Dominantly effusive since 1790, but ~60% explosive over past ~2500 years.

Kilauea volcano tours:

Hawaii – Birthplace of Islands (14 days walking and study tour to Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Hawai’i)

Dream Come True – World Volcano Tour (4-week round-the-world trip to Hawaii – Vanuatu – New Zealand – Indonesia)

Pele´s Fire and Myths (7 days walking tour exploring Kilauea´s historic eruption sites, Hawai’i)

Latest satellite images

Sentinel hub | Landsat 8

Kilauea volcano sat by (C) NASA

Volcano news & updates: Kilauea volcano (Big Island, Hawaii)

Kilauea volcano update: Spectacular photo showing onset of eruption

Mon, 21 Dec 2020, 19:19

19:19 PM | BY: T

Steam and ash plume from last night’s beginning of the new eruption at Kilauea volcano ( image taken at approximately 10:30 p.m., 12/20/20, NPS Photo/J. Wei)

Shortly after the eruption began, lava erupted form the new fissures inside the summit crater came in direct contact with the existing water lake. The result was a very explosive interaction that evaporated the lake completely, now being replaced by a pond of lava.

The Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park posted a spectacular image showing this activity. The explosions between lava and water not only generated massive amounts of steam, but also fragmented lots of rock and lava material, generating a tall steam and ash plume that rose to approx. 9000 m initially. By now, this activity has died out as most available water disappeared.

Previous news

The volcano observatory posted a vertical image with the approximate location of the new vents, 3 in total, on the lower NW walls of the Halema’uma’u pit crater. … read all

As dawn breaks over Kilauea volcano, some details about the new eruption can be seen: the new vents are eruptive fissures in the western and northwestern lower walls of the pit crater. They produce low lava fountains that feed flows that have been creating a pool of lava at the bottom of the crater. read all

USGS posted the following summary with interesting information about the activity at the volcano during the weeks preceding today’s new eruption: … read all

Livecam imagery shows what seems to be lava fountaining from vents at the bottom of the Halema’uma’u pit crater, where the water lake had been until yesterday. … read all

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Volcano Special Tours: We organize tours to particularly active volcanoes and during ongoing eruptions for extended observation time from various viewpoints. These trips, exclusively for very small groups, are often announced only at short notice and require fast travel and flexibility. Each trip is accompanied by a volcanologist from our team. Examples include: Kilauea (Hawai’i), Colima (Mexico), Krakatau and many others.

Tags: eruption, onset, photo, showing, Spectacular, VolcanoDiscovery

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