On August 3, just after 2:00 p.m., Hawaiian Standard Time, the floor of the long-erupting Pu`u `O`o crater collapsed and lava began erupting from new vents on the west flank of Pu`u `O`o cone, sending flows towards the north and south of the cone. Since that time, lava has continued to erupt from these west-flank vents, but the active lava flow has retreated closer to the vent area and is largely contained within a perched lava pond. A very small amount of lava has returned to the collapsed floor of Pu`u `O`o over the past week.
Tourists are flocking to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in order to catch a glimpse of the spectacular rivers of bubbling lava. There is a viewing point within the Park that allows for safe viewing of the lava flows. Additionally, helicopter tours have become very popular allowing tourists unfettered access to view the world-famous Kilauea lava flow.
Since the new Pu`u `O`o vents opened on August 3, the lava lake within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent has dropped substantially over the past week as the summit deflated. As of Thursday, August 11, the Halema`uma`u lava lake was small, sluggish, and deep within the vent cavity.
Three earthquakes beneath Hawai`i Island were reported felt this past week. A magnitude-1.85 earthquake occurred at 8:59 a.m., HST, on Friday, August 5, 2011, and was located 1 km (1 mi) northeast of ‘Opihikao at a depth of 3 km (2 mi). A magnitude-2.1 earthquake occurred at 10:24 a.m. on the same day and was located 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Pahoa at a depth of 1 km (1 mi). A magnitude-2.2 earthquake occurred at 1:58 p.m. on Monday, August 8, and was located 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Kapoho at a depth of 3 km (2 mi).
Visit the HVO Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to [email protected]
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