A powerful lava fountain towers above Kīlauea Iki on 11 December 1959. Lava fountains reached heights up to 580 m on the 17th, the tallest recorded from any Hawaiian volcano at the time. The temperature at the core of the fountain sometimes reached 1,200°C, another record in Hawaii for the highest temperature of erupting lavas at the time. Ejecta built a conical spatter cone around the vent.

Photo by Jerry Eaton, 1959 (U.S. Geological Survey).

This image is made available as a Public Domain Work, but proper attribution is appreciated.

Galleries: Lava Flows

Keywords: lava fountain | lava flow | lava | eruption

Kilauea