Eruptive fissure extending downrift from Napau Crater, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i

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Photograph by C. Heliker on January 31, 1997

Fuming fissures and fresh black lava mark the site of the episode 54 event, which lasted only 24 hours on January 30-31, 1997. Numerous cracks opened in and near Napau Crater (middle fuming area in photograph). The rift widened about 1.8 m as a result of magma rising to the surface. Pu`u `O`o, in the background, is tinted red from oxidized rock dust deposited during the collapse of the crater floor and the west wall of the cone.