USGS: “View from the southern rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Friday, June 16, 2023, showing the southwest eruptive vent that is currently spattering and feeding lava flows on the crater floor.” (USGS photo by D. Downs)

(BIVN) – The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Friday published some new, close-up views of the eruptive vent in the southwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu, which has been putting on quite a show over the last day or so.

“Around 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning, the very top of the spatter cone at this vent collapsed,” the HVO wrote in a Friday morning update. “Since then, spattering from the vent has been renewed and nearly constant, while several new lava streams have effused from the top of the cone in addition to the preexisting tube-fed flow from its base.”

The scientists noted that the fountaining is continuous, “with lava bombs being thrown at least 10 m (33 ft) upwards and at least twice that distance away from the vent.”

from USGS webcam

The vent in the southwest wall has become the dominant feature of the current eruption. As of Friday morning, no other eruptive vents were active at the summit.