The unprecedented Mauna Ulu eruption of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii led to some spectacular imagery a few decades back. Not only was it the longest eruption on record at the time, it was also easily accessible for the public to view. This combination of factors resulted in some amazing photography.
An observation platform was raised for the public to view the spewing lava lake in the crater, the USGS said. In 1969, some stunning pictures were taken, one of which was posted by the USGC for their “throwback Thursday” photograph on social media.
A fountain of lava continually gushed and spilled into the ocean 7.5 miles away for several days, from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13 of that year. The photo, credited to J.B. Judd, shows an incredible, symmetrical “dome” of lava spewing some 65 feet into the air during the eruption. The dome was one of 12 separate fountaining events that occurred that year.
USGS tweeted, “Dome fountain of episode 10, October 10–13, 1969, eruption of Kilauea Volcano. Symmetrical dome fountains such as this are rare.”
“Fountaining” usually happens when gas bubbles form and expand within an isolated vent in a lava fissure, causing a jet of lava to spray into the air. Sixty-five feet seems high, yet fountains typically range anywhere from 30 feet to 330 feet; some spew spectacularly as high as 1,640 feet (half a kilometer) or more.
From the photograph, the lava dome appears to be erupting in the water, but the “waves” shown in the photo are actually ripples of lava—not water.
Since the record-setting eruption of Mauna Ula ended, another eruption has claimed the title for longest-lasting. A volcanic vent on Kilauea’s east rift zone, Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption started in 1983 and has continued since then. Yet, unlike Mauna Ula, Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is much less accessible for the public.
