Only two days later and the finger of the lava flow near the Kalapana viewing site had moved over 40 meters! Covering older flows, bright silvery pahoehoe lava had oozed over the viewing trail and within 20 meters of the viewing site. Above is a picture of new lava (light silver) atop older lava (dark grey).
There are two main types of basaltic lava flows: pahoehoe and 'a'a. Pahoehoe (pronounced pahoyhoy in Hawaiian) flows can look smooth or ropy and layered. You can see the varied texture in the picture below.
Pahoehoe flows extend as new molten lobes break out from cooled crust. 'A'a flows have a rougher, blocky texture and can look like a rolling wave of lava. They also flow much faster than pahoehoe flows. So if pahoehoe flows are like a horse and buggy, 'a'a flows are like cadillac cars. In one of Kilauea's prior eruptions, for example, 'a'a flows traveled 12 km in less than a day. It took pahoehoe flows around 3 months to cover the same distance. As a result of their high speed, 'a'a flows are can be much more dangerous.
The coolest thing I saw out in the flows was a lava cascade: hot molten lava pouring down like a waterfall.
All images are property of the USGS.
Zahra: I love reading these. Keep at it. Have you run into Ranger Bob? Melissa and I met him at the ranger station at the end of Chain of Craters Road at the 2002 flow? I should have left out my photo album for you to look at.
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