WATCH: Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano erupts in 48th episode, sets new record

Digital Curator

(Video: USGS via CNN Newsource) —

Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island spewed lava again on Monday, sending lava hundreds of feet into the air and setting a new record.

According to volcano updates from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Episode 48 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea began at 4:40 a.m. HST on June 1, and “ended abruptly” at 1:37 p.m. HST, after “9 hours of continuous lava fountaining from the north vent.”

USGS announced the eruption is currently paused, and also said a record has been set.

“The Halemaʻumaʻu eruption now has the most fountaining episodes ever recorded for an episodic fountaining eruption, edging out the Pu‘u‘ō‘ō eruption, which had 47 fountain episodes. Other eruptions have had additional episodes related to changes in vent activity and location, this only applies to episodic fountains,” said in a status report Monday.

In an email, Katie Mulliken, a geologist and spokesperson with the observatory, told the Associated Press, that episodes are separated by periods during which little to no lava erupts, and that since lava is coming from the same vents in a crater at Kilauea’s summit, it is the same overall eruption.

There are several notable aspects of the current eruption, she said, including how accessible it is for viewing by residents and tourists. An eruption during the 1980s, in which 47 lava fountaining episodes occurred over about 3 1/2 years, occurred in a more remote area, she said.

The ongoing eruption is also reshaping the topography at the summit, she said.

USGS said Monday that lava fountains reached a maximum height of almost 650 ft at their peak and then slowly dropped throughout the 48th Episode.

Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park got a visible view of the activity as lava spewed and flowed.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report