During 20-26 October, HVO reported that activity at Kilauea continued from the summit caldera and the east rift zone. At the summit caldera, the level of the lava-pool surface in the deep pit within Halema'uma'u crater remained mostly stable; periodically the lava rose above that level, producing nighttime incandescence seen from the Jaggar Museum, on the NW caldera rim. A plume from the vent drifted mainly SW.

At the east rift zone, lava that flowed through the TEB lava-tube system fed at least one ocean entry at the Puhi-o-Kalaikini delta. Small surface flows on the coastal plain and pali were visible during 20-22 October. A vent on the N part of the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor ejected spatter on 20 October. Incandescence was visible from the vent the next day and from multiple vents during 22-23 October.

Geological Summary. Kilauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the island of Hawaii. Eruptions are prominent in Polynesian legends; written documentation since 1820 records frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions interspersed with periods of long-term lava lake activity at Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera until 1924. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1,500 years ago and during the 18th century; eruptions have also originated from the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones, which extend to the ocean in both directions. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone between 1983 and 2018 produced lava flows covering more than 100 km2, destroyed hundreds of houses, and added new coastline.

Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)