Scientists say an eruption occurred along the middle of Kilauea Volcano’s east rift zone after the Pu’u O’o crater floor collapsed, and lava was seen erupting up to 65 feet high.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) reported that rapid deflation at one of the volcanic crater floors named Pu’u ‘O’o, on Saturday led to the eruption of fissure.

At 1:42 p.m. HST this afternoon, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) monitoring network detected the onset of rapid deflation at Pu`u `Ō `ō and increased tremor along Kīlauea Volcano’s middle east rift zone. At 2:00 p.m., Kīlauea’s summit also began to deflate.

Between 2:16 and 2:21 p.m., the floor of the Pu’u O’o crater began to collapse, and within 10 minutes, incandescent ring fractures opened on the crater floor a few tens of meters away from the crater wall. As the floor continued to drop, lava appeared in the center of the crater floor, the northeast spatter cone within Pu’u O’o collapsed, and an obvious scarp or cliff developed on the west side of the crater floor, with lava cascading over the scarp toward the center of the crater.

A new vent with lava shooting as high as 65 feet occurred along the middle of Kilauea’s east rift zone, about 2 miles west of Pu’u O’o.

United States Geological Survey of spatter cone of Puʻu ʻŌʻō June 1983.

A spatter cone is a formation of molten lava ejected from a vent caused by expanding gases in the lava fountains tear the liquid rock into irregular gobs that fall back to earth, forming a heap around the vent. The spatter cone is the look of a typical volcano peak.

Since the 1983 eruption, lava flowing toward the coast has claimed 189 buildings and 8.7 miles of highways, as well as a church, a store, the Wahaʻula Visitor Center, and many ancient Hawaiian sites, including the Wahaʻula heiau. The coastal highway has been closed since 1987, as it has been buried under lava up to 115 ft thick.

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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. The 505.36-square-mile Hawaii Volcanoes National Park encompasses two active volcanoes: Kīlauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world’s most massive volcano. The park gives scientists insight into the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and ongoing studies into the processes of vulcanism. For visitors, the park offers dramatic volcanic landscapes as well as glimpses of rare flora and fauna.

Autumn Harvest
Saturday, October 3, 2009
11:00 AM – 04:00 PM

Fall family festival in North School Park, Arlington Heights Road and Eastman Street, including entertainment, food, scarecrow-building contest, kids activities, hayride and much more!
Celebrate the fall season at North School Park, located at Arlington Heights Road and Eastman Street.

More park information from The Cardinal and Arlingtoncards.com at Arlingtoncards.com/parks

Parks and more on the map (alphabetical listing) …
Arlington Heights District Administration Center
Arlington Lakes Golf Club
Banta
Berbecker
Betsy Ross Gymnasium
Bill Griffith Field
Camelot
Camelot Connector Parkway
Carefree
Carousel
Carriage Walk
Centennial
Creekside
Cronin
Cypress
Davis Street
Dryden
Evergreen
Falcon
Festival
Flentie
Forest View Racquet & Fitness Club
Frontier
Green Slopes
Greenbrier
Greens
Happiness
Hasbrook
Heritage
Heritage Tennis Club
Hickory Meadows
Kingsbridge Arboretum
Klehm
Lake Arlington
Lake Terramere
Lloyd Meyer Field
McDonald Creek Parkway
Melas
Memorial
Methodist
Museum
Nickol Knoll Golf Club
North School Park
Olympic Indoor Swim Center
Patriots
Poe Gymnasium
Pioneer
Prairie
Rand – Berkley
Rand Connector Parkway
Raven
Recreation
Rose Garden
Rotary Field
Senior Center
Scarsdale – Shaag Park
Sunset Meadows
Sunset Ridge
Teen Center
Victory
Virginia Terrace
Volz
Westgate
Wildwood
Willow
Windsor Parkway & Triangles