A helicopter overflight this afternoon (April 23) of KÄ«lauea Volcano’s Halema‘uma‘u crater showed the extent of the largest overflow (silver gray) of the lava lake, which occurred from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. this morning. The overflow covered much of the April/May 2015 and October 2016 overflows, but a section of the 2015 overflow is still visible on the south (upper edge) of the Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. At the time of the flight, multiple spattering sites were active around the margin of the summit lava lake, and the lake surface had dropped to a few meters (yards) below the vent rim. The lower lake level reflected the switch from inflation to deflation at the summit of KÄ«lauea. Photo taken Monday, April 23, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey
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