Volcanic Activity Report on Kīlauea (United States) — 5 July-11 July 2017

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 July-11 July 2017
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2017. Report on Kīlauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 July-11 July 2017. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey. https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?gvpvar=GVP.WVAR20170705-332010

Kīlauea

United States

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)

During 5-11 July HVO reported that the lava lake continued to rise, fall, and spatter in Kīlauea's Overlook crater. Webcams recorded incandescence from long-active sources within Puʻu ʻŌʻō Crater, from a vent high on the NE flank of the cone, and from a small lava pond (which had many small spattering sites along the margin) in a pit on the W side of the crater. The 61G lava flow, originating from a vent on Puʻu ʻŌʻō Crater's E flank, continued to enter the ocean at Kamokuna. Several large cracks running parallel to the coastline spanned the width of the delta. Surface lava flows were active above and on the pali, and on the coastal plain.

Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)

Geological Summary. Kīlauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the Island of Hawaiʻi. 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 Halemaʻumaʻu 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.