The level of the lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu has been relatively high over the past two days, following summit inflation, with lava close to the level of the deep inner ledge. Continuous spattering at the southern lake margin tosses spatter onto the crusted lake surface as well as onto the rim of the ledge, building a steep spatter rampart (left side of image).

View looking east at the lava lake, 40-m (130-ft) across, that circulates within a shallow pit on the northeast side of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater. The heavy fume in the background is the trace of the lava tube that carries lava downslope to the active flows near the coast.

View looking north-northwest at the flow field on the coastal plain. The light-colored flows at the center of the image are active. Surface activity is relatively weak, and the flows are making little, if any, headway toward the ocean. Puʻu ʻŌʻō is visible faintly through the haze at the upper right side of the photo.

This Quicktime movie shows spattering that is typical at the margins of the lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The slow migration of the lava lake surface is normally towards the area of spattering, where the lava sinks back into the magmatic system. Spatter in this clip is being thrown about 5-10 meters (yards) in height. Views like this are fleeting, however, with the thick gas plume shifting with the winds.

The flows on the coastal plain continue to take their time on their path to the ocean. Today, relatively sluggish pāhoehoe breakouts were active about 1.1 km (0.7 miles) from the water. In the upper right portion of the photograph, fume sources on the pali mark the path of the lava tube coming through Royal Gardens subdivision.

Pele's hair covers much of the ground in the area immediately downwind of the vent at Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Accumulations about a meter (yard) wide are found on the windward sides of the curbs in the Halemaʻumaʻu parking lot, which is closed to the public because of the ongoing volcanic hazard.

Active flows are still spread out across a broad area on the coastal plain, and advancement towards the ocean remains relatively slow. This image is a composite of a thermal image and normal photograph, with white and yellow areas showing active pāhoehoe breakouts, and red areas showing inactive, but still warm, portions of the flow surface. Today, the flow front (lower left corner of image) was about 900 meters (0.6 miles) from the ocean. The field of breakouts shown here is about 1.4 km (0.9 miles) wide. On the pali, a line of fuming areas marks the path of the lava tube through Royal Gardens subdivision. The fume from these sources partly obscures another narrow breakout on the pali.

Another view of the flows on the coastal plain, showing the remaining distance to the ocean. The active flow front is near the center of the image (see above image for reference).

Left: A lava pond has been active in a collapse pit in the eastern portion of Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater for over a month now, with continuous roiling and spattering. For scale, two spatter collection trays - each slightly larger than a lunch tray - can be seen on the crater's rim at the left edge of the image. Right: This nearly-vertical thermal image, taken from a helicopter, shows the lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu. The lava level has been variable over time, and today it was near the level of the deep inner ledge, which is approximately 70 meters (230 feet) below the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The lava lake, mostly covered by large crustal plates, has a steady motion in which lava rises in the northwestern portion of the lake and flows to the southeastern margin, where it sinks (often accompanied by spattering).

The flows active on the coastal plain for the last month and a half have entered Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park over the past day. These flows were just 55 meters (180 ft) within the Park boundary, and 900 meters (0.6 miles) from the ocean. The pāhoehoe breakouts at the flow front had a rough, spiny texture possibly because they were slightly cooler than more typical fluid pāhoehoe toes.

Left: Another look at the rough, spiny breakouts at the flow front today. Right: A few hundred meters (yards) up from the flow front, pāhoehoe breakouts of a more fluid appearance were abundant.

Flows are still advancing slowly on the coastal plain, and were 1.3 km (0.8 miles) from the ocean today. Although overall flow field advancement was sluggish, one small area had a brief surge of activity during today's field mapping. A portion of an inflated flow margin gave way due to increasing fluid pressure from within, sending out an impressive gush of lava. In the background, the fume sources on the pali mark the path of the lava tube coming through Royal Gardens subdivision.

Left: At the front of the surge, the thin surface crust rolls up as it advances, creating a ropey pāhoehoe texture. Right: From the top of the inflated flow margin, the source of the surge can be seen.

The lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu has been at a relatively high level over the past week, and several rise-fall cycles (short term increases in lava level immediately followed by spattering and an abrupt drop) pushed the level even higher over the past day. This Quicktime movie is a timelapse sequence taken from the Halemaʻumaʻu thermal camera, showing the rise-fall cycles and lava spilling out over the deep inner ledge during the high stands. For scale, the inner ledge is about 70 m (about 230 ft) below the vent rim. Also, note the "bathtub ring" left by the high stands after the lava level drops. The realtime view from this thermal camera can be found with the Webcams link above.

A small lava pond, set within a collapse pit, has been active in the eastern portion of Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater for the past several weeks. At the east margin of the lava pond, lava sinks back into the system, with frequent spatter bursts sourced from this downwelling spot.

Flows were spread across a broad expanse on the coastal plain today, and continue to slowly advance towards the ocean, but have made only minor progress over the past week. This image combines a thermal image with a normal photograph, with the bright yellow areas showing active breakouts and red/purple areas showing warm, but inactive, flow areas. The numerous fume sources on the pali mark the path of the lava tube in Royal Gardens subdivision. Compare this image to a similar one acquired on April 5.

An HVO geologist, wearing a balaclava and thick gloves to guard against the extreme heat, uses a rock hammer to take a sample of an active pāhoehoe toe. He immediately drops the fluid lava in a bucket of water to quench the sample and prevent further crystal growth, preserving the sample in a pristine state. Regular geochemical analyses of these samples provides insight on the changing magmatic plumbing system.