Kilauea Volcano Eruption photos, Hawaii – 1969-1974

The Mauna Ulu eruption on the Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, lasted from May 24, 1969 to July 24, 1974. It added 230 acres of new land to Hawaii’s Big Island. It’s erupting again:

BBC:

A Hawaiian volcano is blasting out “ballistic blocks” the size of kitchen appliances and the authorities are warning it could get worse.

Since a new zone of Kilauea began erupting almost two weeks ago, lava has wrecked dozens of homes and forced hundreds of people to be evacuated.

An ash plume rising up to two miles (more than 3,000m) prompted officials to warn pilots to avoid the area.

Quakes as strong as magnitude 4.4 have been felt on the largest island.

The floor of the volcano’s caldera (the bowl where lava erupts) is deflating, causing stress at the volcano’s base.

This is causing earthquakes and new fissures to open in the ground, and creating the risk of new, highly explosive steam-powered eruptions as the magma meets underground water.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 1969-1971 Mauna Ulu eruption of Kilauea Volcano. Dome fountain near Aloi Crater. Photo by D.A. Swanson, January 29, 1971. (USGS)

Lava fountain 300 m 1,000 ft) high plays from Mauna Ulu vent area, 1510 December 30, 1969. Lava flows fed by the fountain cascade into ‘Ālo‘i Crater, 600 m (2,000 ft) from the vent. The flow into ‘Ālo‘i was more vigorous before a dam near the vent diverted most of the lava southward (toward right). The fountain was the widest of the eruption and, as the color pattern shows, appears to fan outward from the vent. This was the last major fountain during the eruption. A couple of hours after the photo was taken, the wind shifted, and the black Ford station wagon, still parked in the same place, was pelted with falling pumice and needed, though never received, a new paint job. (USGS)