Halema‘uma‘u lava lake, Kīlauea summit eruption—March 5, 2021

A zoomed-in photo of the west vent (left) in Halema‘uma‘u crater, Kīlauea summit, about a half hour after the observed lava flow started on the north side of the vent. The activity began with weak incandescent spatter being thrown from the top of the cone at 11:45 a.m. HST, gradually increasing in vigor for about 30 minutes. The molten spatter fed two small lava channels down the northeast side of the cone (center-left). The flows merged at the base of the cone and continued to flow along the northern stagnant lava lake margin. USGS photo taken by J. Schmith on March 5, 2021.