Fire from the volcano

Lava from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent pours into the ocean.Lava from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent pours into the ocean.Lava from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent pours into the ocean.

Since the theme of this week’s WordPress photo challenge is elemental, I thought I’d pull out a few more photos from my visit, earlier this year, to the lava flow from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent.

This is the closest we get to seeing fire from the earth’s core, a roaring torrent of molten lava. Since I took these photos there have been cliff collapses that have ended this firehose effect. But the lava continues to flow and has formed a good-sized delta at the foot of the cliff. This delta is crossed by several large cracks, which run parallel to the coast. This means the whole delta is likely to collapse into the ocean in the near future, probably in explosive fashion.

Could be time for another visit!

Lava from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent pours into the ocean.Lava from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent pours into the ocean.

13 thoughts on “Fire from the volcano”

  1. Pingback: Firehose of lava | Graham's Island

  4. Pingback: Elemental: Sky | What's (in) the picture?

    1. Graham Post author

      It wasn’t that close, that’s the telephoto at work. The park tries to keep people from getting too close because the unstable nature of the ground makes it dangerous. It’s still an amazing sight and an absolute must see for anyone visiting.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Alan H

    Spectacular photos, particularly the third one with the exploding cloud and the volcano illuminating the back. How close were you and could you feel the heat ?

    Like

    1. Graham Post author

      These were taking from the viewing area on the Kalapana side of the flow. I’m not sure how far away it is – maybe as much as half a mile, but the view was very good. I didn’t feel the heat from there, but back when the lava first entered the ocean, I took a boat trip to see it from the water and the boat skipper put us in very close where it was very warm indeed. They’re not allowed to get that close anymore because the current delta is quite dangerous and liable to collapse at any time.

      Like

    1. Graham Post author

      Thanks for stopping by. It really was awesome, and slightly unreal. The firehose was so uniform it was almost like it wasn’t moving, but the steam and explosions made it very clear it was.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.