January 5, 2017 Voggy Bench Collapse from Mick Kalber on Vimeo.

Video courtesy of Tropical Visions Video with air transportation by Paradise Helicopters.

The sea cliffs near the Kamokuna Ocean Entry for the 61g lava flow from Kilauea. Photo taken Sunday, January 1, 2017 by USGS

The rocky shelf at the base of the sea cliff is all that remains of the Kamokuna lava delta following the New Year’s Eve collapse (Dec. 31, 2016), which sent acres of rock plunging into the sea. The exposed lava tube continued to feed a cascade of molten rock down the steep sea cliff, beginning the process of building another lava delta at the ocean entry, as this photo was taken on Jan. 1, 2017. When the lava delta collapsed, solid and molten fragments of lava and superheated steam exploded skyward, creating tremendous hazard for anyone who ignored the warning signs and entered the closed area on land or ventured too close to the lava delta by boat. Photo by USGS

Part of what’s left of the eastern Kamokuna lava delta following the New Year’s Eve collapse can be seen in the center foreground of this image. Visible cracks on the surface of this rocky shelf indicate potential instability and serve as reminders for visitors to the lava viewing area to heed all warning signs. Photo taken Tuesday, January 3, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

A telephoto lens captured the cascade of lava streaming from the lava tube. Hot lava mixing with cool seawater produces an explosive interaction that results in fragmented lava—spatter, Pele’s hair, and black sand—flying upward, landing on the sea cliff above the ocean entry and being thrown seaward. These fragments pose a hazard to anyone who ventures too close to the ocean entry by land or by sea. Photo taken Tuesday, January 3, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

A closer view of lava cascading from the lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry, with spatter (fragments of molten lava) and black sand (volcanic glass) being thrown skyward. Photo taken Tuesday, January 3, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

A glove provides scale for spatter (lighter gray, shiny fragments) that landed on the sea cliff above the Kamokuna ocean entry. Photo taken Tuesday, January 3, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Pele’s hair, filaments of volcanic glass, formed from the explosive interaction of hot lava entering the ocean, accumulates on the lava surface above the ocean entry. Some is also blown far downwind of the ocean entry. Photo taken Tuesday, January 3, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Lava pouring into the ocean from the sea cliff at Kamokuna ocean entry. Video is shot from the new public viewing site on Tuesday, January 4, 2017. NPS Video

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

Kīlauea continues to erupt at its summit and East Rift Zone. This past week, the summit lava lake level varied between about 9 and 34 m (30–112 ft) below the vent rim. The 61g lava flow was still active and entering the ocean near Kamokuna. On December 31, nearly all the eastern Kamokuna lava delta collapsed into the ocean, along with a large section of the older sea cliff east of the delta. Significant hazards are associated with ocean entries and delta collapses, so visitors to the coastal lava viewing area are cautioned to heed all warning signs and to stay outside closed areas. A younger branch of the 61g flow is advancing slowly to the east of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, but none of the 61g flows pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week, only a few small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the volcano, primarily in the upper Southwest Rift Zone and summit caldera at depths less than 5 km (3 miles). GPS measurements continue to show deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.

One earthquake was reported felt on the Island of Hawaiʻi during the past week. On January 4, at 11:02 p.m., HST, a magnitude-2.8 earthquake occurred 18.2 km (11.3 mi) northwest of Kailua Kona at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi).

Please visit the HVO website (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for past Volcano Watch articles, KÄ«lauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, recent earthquakes info, and more; call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (KÄ«lauea) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa); email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

Time-lapse image movie from a research camera positioned on Holei Pali, looking east towards Lava Flow 61G and Kalapana. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse multi-image movie of Mokuʻāweoweo Caldera from the Northwest Rim on Mauna Loa. December 29, 2016-January 5, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

This map is based on mapping conducted on January 3, 2017. The map of the coastline at the lava flow ocean entry at Kamokuna shows the areas of the lava delta and adjacent coastline that collapsed into the ocean on December 31, 2016. The collapsed areas are shown with an ‘x’ pattern and a blue background and are now part of the ocean. The shape of the eastern Kamokuna lava delta was revised based on satellite imagery acquired on December 25, 2016. The remaining sections of the lava delta, including the inactive western Kamokuna delta, are shown as a stippled pattern with a pink background. The active lava tube is shown with a yellow line and is dashed where its location is uncertain. The current ocean entry point, where lava cascades into the water, is located where the lava tube intersects the sea cliff. The NPS ropeline is shown as a dashed black line. The western extent of the ropeline was not mapped and is therefore not show; the eastern extent of the ropeline was moved on January 3, and has been approximated on this map between the emergency road and the coast. The dotted black line inland from the coast marks the location of the sea cliff before the PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō eruption began in 1983. The background is a Digital Globe satellite image acquired January 9, 2016; the episode 61g lava flow is the partly transparent area that overlies the background image.