Kilauea Volcano Eruption Photographs

Taken from a helicopter November 28, 2005

Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawaii has been active and continuously erupting since 1983. The Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kilauea, as it is called, is the 55th eruptive episode. It is the most voluminous outpouring of lava on the volcano's east rift zone in the past five centuries. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitors Kilauea extensively and their web page contains a wealth of information on this most interesting scientific phenomenom.

On our trip to the Big Island we took a helicopter ride over the volcano to see & photograph it. On the morning of our flight, November 28, 2005, A major chunk on the bench area broke off & fell into the ocean. This 40+ acre abcess exposed lava tubes from the cliff that poured large streams of glowing molten rock into the ocean below. A gigantic steam & debris plume rose thousands of feet and dropped sheets of volcanic glass (called limu o Pele after the Hawaiian Goddess) and thin strands of volcanic glass known as Pele's hair hundreds of feet away. In a short time a 'ramp' was built up and the lava continued flowing down it into the steaming water. During our flight we witnessed a much smaller piece breaking off and dropping. I was able to get several photographs as we passed over. The following photographs were all taken on this flight.

Copyright 2005 Jerry Molaver
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Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005
Steam plume rising
still miles away 		lava field view of lava flow
slopes down to ocean 		lava flows under surface
until it reaches ocean
Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005
steam plume rises as
lava reaches water 		Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it 		Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it 		Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it
Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005
Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it 		Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it 		Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it 		Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it
Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005 Photograph taken at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, November 28, 2005
Ocean water flashes to steam
as lava superheats it 		Piece of delta shelf breaks away
& falls exposing glowing lava 		Debris & steam plume
accellerated upward 		Steam plume carries debris
upward, obscuring lava

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