Lava from the eruption of Mauna Loa on Hawaiis Big Island is still flowing downslope toward the Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Saddle Road), according to the latest update from the U.S. Geological Surveys Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Mauna Loa, the worlds largest active volcano, began erupting at 11:30 p.m. HST on Nov. 27 in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, according to the USGS. The eruption was initially contained to the summit caldera, Mokuāweoweo, but migrated from the summit to the Northeast Rift Zone where fissures fed multiple lava flows, the agency said.
In an update Tuesday, the agency reported that one active fissure in the Northeast Rift Zone, fissure 3, is generating the lava flow. Last week, fissure 3 sent lava fountaining 131–164 feet into the air, the USGS said.
A video shared by USGS shows a close-up of the fissure 3 lava channel on Monday, Dec. 5. “The large bumps are standing waves in the lava,” the agency said.
“Channel velocities here, closer to the vent where the channels are narrow, were measured at 26–36 feet per second (8.2–11 meters per second). However, farther downslope, the wide lava flow front is advancing slowly at about average rate of about 20 feet per hour (6 meters per hour) over the 24-hour period prior,” the agency said.
As of Tuesday morning, the flow rate had increased significantly. USGS reported the flow front was about 1.93 miles from Saddle Road. It advanced at an average rate of about 68 feet per hour over the previous 24 hours, the agency said.
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has closed Mauna Loa Road from Kīpukapuaulu until further notice.
The eruption marks the end of the longest quiet period in Mauna Loas recorded history, which began when it last erupted in 1984.
