Kīlauea Lava Fountains Climb to 660 Feet During Episode 56

Hawaii, United States – Lava fountains at Kīlauea climbed hundreds of feet above the summit vent during episode 56 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption.

The US Geological Survey's V2 camera, looking towards the east side of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, captured the activity on Thursday, November 5. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the episode began at 12:10 p.m. HST and ended abruptly at 6:01 p.m. HST after about six hours of continuous lava fountaining.

Fountain heights reached about 660 feet (200 metres), with an eruptive plume rising to about 18,000 feet above sea level, the observatory reported. Tiltmeter data indicated roughly 8 million cubic yards of lava erupted during the episode.

All eruptive vents and lava flows remained confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The volcano alert level stayed at WATCH and the aviation colour code at ORANGE.