The lava lake at Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 636 feet deep as of Wednesday afternoon and had a volume greater than 35 million cubic yards, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said today.
This USGS video, taken Wednesday, shows lava flowing and fountaining in Halema‘uma‘u crater.
The first clip reveals that the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u is being fed by two sources from the western fissure.
The second clip shows that the southwest vent of the western fissure is producing periodic spatter bursts that have built the cone up to nearly the height of the previously active cone to the right. In this video, spatter that has built up at the top of the cone collapses, widening the opening.
The current eruption of Kilauea began Dec. 20.