Kīlauea Iki

Coordinates: 19°24.833′N 155°14.785′W / 19.413883°N 155.246417°W / 19.413883; -155.246417

Kīlauea Iki is a pit crater which is next to the main summit caldera of Kīlauea.

Kilauea volcano eruption

In August 1959, a swarm of deep earthquakes was detected by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In October it was indicated by seismographs that Kilauea summit was filling with magma. This formed a new lava shield, named Pu'u Pua'i (gushing hill).

Lava fountain

Some of the most impressive parts of the eruption were the lava fountains that flowed from Puʻu Puaʻi. By November 17, the fountain was reaching 60–80 meters tall with occasional bursts as high as 180 meters. The fountain grew to over 320 meters on November 18. On November 21, the lava lake was over a meter deep over the vent causing ripples across the surface of the lava lake causing lava on the shores to break like waves on a beach. At 7:25 p.m. local time on November 21, the fountain went from 210 meters tall to a few gas bubbles in less than 40 seconds. Some of the fountains were extraordinarily high, reaching nearly 580 m (1,900 ft), among the highest ever recorded.