The lava lake inside the Overlook Crater of Halemaumau in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano keeps on rising, giving tourists a fascinating glimpse into the surface of the molten rock and the splashes from rockfall outbursts.
The hissing noise of fleeing gases alongside roaring thermal cracks on the rock barriers could be heard at the Jaggar Museum's overlook.
The collapse of two portions of the Overlook Crater wall at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, caused explosions and the spraying of lava up onto the barriers of Halemaumau and sprinkled the museum area with sand-sized ash.
Seismic activity underneath Kilauea's summit, the upper Southwest Rift Zone and the upper East Rift Zone continues to be elevated, based on Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) reports.
The lava lake continues increasing its volume. The molten lava has risen to an all-time high since the current exhaust first erupted in 2008.
The Kilauea volcano erupted explosively on March 19, 2008, the first volcanic activity in the Halemaumau crater since 1924. On that day, the hot rocks spewed by the volcano, already reaching nearly 4,100 feet above the surface of the ocean, formed an opening on the southern part of the crater wall.
It was considered the beginning of the current eruption. According to the HVO, the crater's vent has continued to be in an active state since 2008, although it has grown in size and encloses a stable lava lake. The vent has increased from 525 feet wide by 655 feet long.
Scientists confirmed that the lava lake rose to around 46 feet on Saturday morning. It approached within about 10 feet of the crater base, the highest throughout this present activity, but withdrew to around 20 feet under the overlook crater edge.
Lava watchers are advised to carry binoculars since the lava lake is on the distant side of the Halemaumau crater. For night visitors, it is advisable to wear warm clothes due to cold temperatures and unpredictable weather with some occasional fog and rain.
"The glow is great but it's kind of a quiet thing, but now with the lava rising, it's melting the shelf and making the rocks explode when they're being hit with the lava. So it's quite the audio experience up there now with rocks crashing and big booming sounds and popping sounds. It's really cool," Jessica Ferracane, spokesperson of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, said.
The park is open to guests and tourists 24 hours a day but requires a National Park pass or an entrance fee.
