I think "stop" is too hard a word. How about "loitering aimlessly."

Or possibly "wandering blithely and pointlessly"

I have this "masturbation" analogy, too. But it's kinda vulgar. Think on the climax as the eruption (or the eruption as climax) and in terms of the age of the earth, Kilauea is like a young stud. It's gotten off once today and is trying for a second spurt.

Just some silly thoughts in the rain . . . (it is raining here where I am, BTW)

A blob of lava gone bad and turned criminal broke out and crossed Apa'a Road Street again.

There's video (no words, just picture) on BIG ISLAND VIDEO NEWS

Dave (imported) wrote: Sun Sep 14, 2014 11:58 am http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2014/

11/09/video-lava-crosses-apaa-street-pahoa/

Mac, to answer your question.

Kilauea is by earth standards a very young volcano so all of the Puna district or homes to about 10,000 people sit on this active volcano me included. It has many vents or craters that it can flow from, the main crater is only giving some smoke and steam however down slope a few miles is the Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater It has been active for over 30 years. This latest flow is in a different direction from where it was flowing this time its heading right of the little village of Pahoa.

Now as for stalled, this volcano is still flowing its still filling the lava tubes, its inflating and at some point its going to start oozing out again. The question on everybody's mind here is where?

I have posted several times that the best site is Bigislandvideonews.com it gives sometimes two updates a day with pictures and everything. Plus other things that are going on in the local area, it has become my number one news source or place to go first to find out what is going on.

So back to your question, the lava has stopped and its building up for a big blow or its going to stop altogether, or its going to break out and go somewhere else, but consider this, the flow that took out Kalapana lasted over 30 years. One thing we do know about this volcano, it flows very slow and over many many years.

We are in it for the long run,

River

What fills in the space where the lava was ?

Or does it become a global vacuum setting up to collapse if not implode our Earth.

Moi

A) Gum Drops left by Unicorns fill the spaces where the lava was

B) it seems that the lava is creeping like a drunkard through the Transfer Facility and surroundings towards beautiful downtown Pahoa.

C) the lava behind the newly constructed berm that was so much in the news has "inflated" to higher than the berm. I don't think that the berm is going to stop it. HOWEVER, Mister Lee who owns the land and created the berm knows quite a lot of how the rain flows over his land and the neighbor's land so he might have put the berm in the right position to save his house. However, the house might not burn but the lava might still surrounds it making it impossible to get to ever again.

What is it they say about the "best laid plans . . ."

Mr Lee has become kind of a folk hero to some the devil incarnate to others, I say way to go hope it works.

Moi, I can answer you question about lava tubes however maybe you should spend some time and look it up for yourself because by doing so you will most likely get several more of your questions answered.

Hint, it has to do with heat and cooling.

River

UPDATE

For what ever reason Pele smiled on the little village of Pahoa at least for the time being. The Lava flow which everybody has been watching, stopped. Well not exactly stopped but it developed cracks up near the mouth of the crater 7 miles back up the hill, it has decided to start over and which direction it decides to take is a guess at this point.

The good news is that they are opening up the road through town again, everything is back to normal well almost normal the transfer station is gone without major repairs other then that one house one cemetery and all is well.

Final number it stopped 288 feet before going through the town.

River

Personally, I think Pele is laying back and cooling it for the holiday with a big pitcher of booze singing "wasting away again in Margaritaville."

http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-newest-lav ... 09140.html

World's Newest Lava Lake Appears in Africa

". . . The lava lake at Nyamuragira volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) simmers deep within the summit's North Pit Crater. Though the churning lava seems to come and go, scientists think the volcano may eventually spawn a long-lived lava lake. . . "

Nyah, :tongueout Nyah Ms. Pele

Moi

PS. Go ahead, we have RiverLava to defend the Right, the Just, the American way.

And Happy Thanksgiving, DEAR

Lava from the Pu'u O'o vent is on the move again. Upstream breakouts.

This time, the lowest paths and gradients sloping downward go to the north edge of Pahoa.

However two of those gradients nearly meet so the lava might go much more north or turn south or go both ways or just flow over everything.

However, it seems (hedge, equivocate, guess) that the lava isn't aimed at downtown Pahoa.