During 20-26 August HVO reported that the circulating lava lake occasionally rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater. Gas emissions remained elevated. The plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash, spatter, and Pele's hair onto nearby areas; smaller particles may have been dropped several kilometers away. On 23 August part of the deep inner ledge surrounding the lava lake collapsed, disrupting the lava lake surface for a short time.

During 20-26 August glow was visible overnight above several outgassing openings in Pu`u `O`o's crater floor and on 20-21 August glow was visible at skylights along the June 27th flow lava tube. On 22 August observations during a helicopter flight showed the June 27th flow had poured into a deep, large crack of Kilauea’s east rift zone and produced a line of steaming that advanced eastward. On 25 August an overflight confirmed that lava in the crack had returned to the surface, creating a small, isolated pad of lava. On 26 August the farthest portion of this new pad of lava was about 11.4 km from the vent on Pu`u `O`o and about 3.1 km from the eastern boundary of the Wao Kele o Puna Forest Reserve. A separate branch of the June 27th flow continued to advance into a different section of forest northeast of Pu`u `O`o and was 7.3 km from the vent on 25 August.

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)