Kiluea Iki (Little Kiluea) Pit Crater in the Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. In August 1959, a swarm of deep earthquakes was detected by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In October it was indicated by seismographs that the summit of Kīlauea was filling with new magma. Between September and November over 1000 earthquakes were detected. On November 14, the activity increased as magma made its way to the surface and erupted at 8:08 pm local time. A fissure opened up through the south wall of Kīlauea Iki and began to fill up the crater with a lava lake. A lava fountain was spewing lava 60–80 meters by November 17. This formed a new cinder cone, named Puʻu Puaʻi (gushing hill). Facts * On December 15, the highest flow of lava was measured at 1.45 million cubic meters per hour. * With every filling and draining of the lava lake, a ‘black ledge’ was formed along the rim of the crater which is now 15–60 meters wide and 15 meters tall. * During lava drainbacks, a giant counter-clockwise whirlpool would form.