Scientists studied fire fountains from the phase-34 eruption
(August 1984) of Pu’u O’o in Hawaii to investigate the dispersal
and cooling of ejected materials. In this view, the incandescent
part of the plume is approximately 200 meters high. Large clasts
from this fire fountain retained their heat to such an extent
that they coalesced on the ground to form a lava flow that moved
away from the vent (at right in this view). Pu’u O’o is located
about 15 kilometers downrift from the summit of Kilauea Caldera,
on the East Rift Zone. Photograph courtesy of P. Mouginis-Mark.