Kilauea Volcano: Photos of the 2018 Eruption

New Lava Delta: Lava flows from the Lower East Rift Zone have been entering the ocean along the easternmost coast of the island. Since the beginning of the current eruption cycle in early May, 2018, approximately 875 acres of lava deltas have been built where lava distributary channels fall into the ocean. Image by the United States Geological Survey.

Lava Flow Map: An updated lava flow map of the East Rift Zone area, showing fissure eruption locations and recent lava flows. Note the location of the former coastline and how the island has been enlarged by lava deltas. Map by USGS. Click to enlarge.

Black Sand Creation at Kilauea: As molten lava enters the ocean, the rapid temperature drop causes it to solidify and then immediately shatter into small glassy fragments. This is the origin of the black basalt sand that is well-known in Hawaii. The black sand is transported along the coast by longshore currents. The sand deposits can enlarge beaches, create sand bars, and close inlets. In the photo above, the shoreline has been extended seaward by a thick deposit of black sand. The sand has surrounded a boat ramp, making it unusable until waves and currents remove the sand, or until humans intervene, or until more black sand is delivered to make the black beach wider. Image by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Monitoring Pavement Fractures: Scientists often mark and monitor pavement fractures for signs of extension, compression or displacement. These can be indicators of magma movement below or reactivation of a nearby fissure. Image by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Unstable Lava Deltas: Cracks parallel to the shoreline clearly illustrate the instability of this lava delta near Kapoho and Vacation Lots. Photo by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Ocean Entry Through Steam and Rain: Braided streams of lava produce a wide ocean entry along the southeast coast of Hawaii. The "foggy" view is caused by steam rising from the ocean entry and rain falling through the morning sky. Photo by the United States Geological Survey.

Pele's Hair is the name used for hair-like strands of volcanic glass that sometimes form in areas where lava fountaining, lava cascades and vigorous lava activity occur. They are less than 1/2 millimeter in width, but can be up to two meters in length. They resemble golden-brown human hair in their size, shape and color. They are a mineraloid formed from basaltic lava. Creative Commons photograph by Cm3826. Click to enlarge.

Tephra: The photo above shows a portion of Leilani Street, in the Leilani Estates subdivision, where tephra from high lava fountains at fissure 8 has been carried downwind. The tephra is vesicular basalt. Image by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Lava Fountaining: This photograph shows lava fountaining and ramparts built from the spatter at Fissure 22 on May 21. To appreciate how high the lava is fountaining, look at the size of the trees in front of the lava flow. Photograph by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Three Ocean Entries: On May 24 lava was pouring into the Pacific Ocean at three locations, and Fissures 6, 13 and 22 were still erupting. Photo by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Kilauea Lava Reaches the Ocean: On May 20th, lava from Fissure 20 had flowed all the way to the edge of the island and was falling into the ocean. The white plume rising from the ocean entry is known as "laze" - a contraction of "lava haze". Laze is produced when hot lava causes sea water to boil. That produces chemical and physical reactions that cause the plume to contain a mixture of condensed seawater steam, hydrochloric acid gas, and tiny shards of volcanic glass. It is a health hazard for people in the immediate area or downwind. Photo by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

East Rift Zone Map: An updated map of the East Rift Zone showing the location of the 18 recent fissure eruptions, recent lava flows, and historic lava flows. Public domain map by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Ash Column at Overlook Crater: A rockfall from the steep walls of Overlook Crater triggered an explosion from the lava lake below, which produced a large ash cloud that took about an hour to clear. Image by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Fountaining Lava: This fissure eruption in the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano began with the emission of steam, then a small sputtering of lava from a newly-opened fracture in the ground. The same day, roaring lava jets produced 200-foot-high fountains of lava. This night photograph shows incandescent lava erupting from several jets along the fissure. Public domain photo by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge image.

Steam Emissions: The first visible signs of potential volcanic eruptions were surface fractures and steam vents. These were convincing evidence that an eruption was about to occur. The steam was produced as molten rock below vaporized groundwater and caused it to begin hissing from the first fractures that developed at the surface. Public domain photo by the United States Geological Survey. Click to enlarge.

Satellite Image of Kilauea: This image from NASA's Terra spacecraft shows recent eruption features of Kilauea Volcano. Colors on the image represent different land features. Areas covered in vegetation are red, old lava flows are black and gray, the ocean is shades of blue. Yellow and greenish colors are hotspots that include erupting fissures, lava flows, lava lakes and recent ashfall areas. Hotspots in the middle of the image are the Pu'u O'o crater and lava flows descending the southeast flank of the volcano. The westernmost hotspots are the crater and lava lake on Kilauea's summit. The easternmost hot spots are erupting fissures and lava flowing to the northwest. The greenish areas southwest of Pu'u O'o are covered in fresh ashfall. Image by NASA. Click to enlarge.