Hawaii's Kilauea volcano began erupting in January 1983 with a spectacular arching lava fountain. This photo was taken on Feb. 25, 1983.
Geologists preparing to collect samples near an active vent erupting in the background at Kilauea's east rift zone on Jan. 7, 1983.
An aerial view of Pu'u O'o crater, where the eruption has been occurring, at dusk, soon after the eruption began. Photo taken June 29, 1983.
An aerial view of Pu'u O'o crater from the southeast on April 21, 1988.
Kilauea volcano's eruption destroyed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park's Wahaula Visitor Center, shown on the top in 1987. The building was set aflame by molten lava on June 22, 1989.
Lava from Kilauea volcano flows from a tube into the sea near Kupapau Point in Hawaii. Photo taken Nov. 27, 1989.
Two aerial views show lava from Kilauea's east rift zone advancing through the Kalapana community between April and June 1990. By the end of summer, Kalapana was buried beneath lava. Total losses at the time were estimated at $61 million.
An aerial view of the lava lake in Pu'u O'o crater, taken Aug. 30, 1990. The crater was about 800 feet (250 meters) in diameter.
Spots at incandescent cones in Pu'u O'O crater contrast with the broad glow from a new vent and lava flow at the southeast base of the cone. A new fissure opened at the crater's southeast base in January 2004.
Looking up at the last incarnation of the so-called Cookie Monster hornito on the inactive Mother's Day flow lave tube. Hornitos are steep-sided spatter cones that form on the surface of lava flows. The Mother's Day flow was so named becaue it began on Mother's Day (May 12) in 2002. The photo was taken Aug. 5, 2005.
When lava from the Pu'u O'o crater eruption, meets the ocean, large littoral explosions from steam can result. Photo taken July 16, 2008.
A small active pahoehoe flow overplating an older a'a flow on the coastal plain below Pu'u O'o crater in Hawaii. Taken Feb. 25, 2010. Pahoehoe is smooth, basaltic lava that flows forward in lobes, while a'a has a rougher surface made up of broken lava blocks.
Lava enters the ocean in May 2010 from the Kalapana flow at Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.
A geologist taking a sample on July 14, 2010, from a recently formed skylight on the Quarry flow lava tube. The Quarry lava flow began in 2010.
A 3-foot-wide (1 meter) channel feeds a lava surge that broke out from an active flow in the Kalapana Gardens subdivision near Kilauea volcano, sending a fast-moving but relatively small flow through coconut palms in late July 2010.
Lava exited a tube at the sea cliff near Kalapana and poured out into the ocean at a growing lava delta. Photo taken July 26, 2010.
This image of a dusty plume produced by rocks collapsing from the wall of Halema'uma'u Crater was captured by a time-lapse camera on Dec. 21, 2011.
The Advanced Land Imager on NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite snapped this image of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on Jan. 28, 2012. The natural-color view shows Halema'uma'u crater and Pu'u O'o crater.
View of the lava lake in Halema'uma'u crater on Oct. 22, 2012. The next day, the lake hit its highest level since the vent opened up in March 2008.
