A powerful lava fountain towers above Kīlauea Iki on 11 December 1959. Lava fountains reached heights up to 580 m on the 17th, the tallest recorded from any Hawaiian volcano at the time. The temperature at the core of the fountain sometimes reached 1,200°C, another record in Hawaii for the highest temperature of erupting lavas at the time. Ejecta built a conical spatter cone around the vent.

Photo by Jerry Eaton, 1959 (U.S. Geological Survey).

This image is made available under the Public Domain Dedication CC0 license, but proper attribution is appreciated.

Galleries: Lava Flows

Keywords: lava fountain | lava flow | lava | eruption

Kilauea