Don’t get too close. Photo: USGS
Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and over the weekend it lived up to its reputation. A spectacular eruption shot fountains of lava over a thousand feet in the air and even destroyed one of the USGS’s live-feed cameras.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island is home to Kīlauea’s Halema‘uma‘u crater, which is where the destroyed camera was situated. The area is closed off to the public (for reasons that should be obvious), but is monitored closely by researchers, which results in hours and hours of sometimes stunning footage.
The eruption lasted over 12 hours, with three separate lava fountains spewing from a variety of vents. While there have been several other eruptions in the last few years that were almost as eye-catching, this weekend’s might take the cake. Although a volcanic eruption like this one certainly is stunning to see, being anywhere near it is not a good idea. Volcanic gas and Pele’s hair — tiny threads of volcanic glass — fill the air for miles around.
The area around the Kīlauea caldera has been closed since 2007 when researchers realized just how bad it would be if tourists found themselves in the wrong part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at the wrong time. As of Monday morning, there was still a code orange alert for Kīlauea, which indicates that an eruption is either likely to occur, or in this case, actively occurring. Another eruption is expected in the coming weeks.
“The rapid rebound of inflationary tilt, continued tremor, and moderate glow from both vents overnight all indicate another fountaining episode is likely,” the USGS wrote. “It is still too early to make an accurate forecast. Based on current conditions and past events, the onset of another fountain episode is at least 2-3 weeks away at this time.”
