Halema‘uma‘u west vent on January 21, 2021

Between overcast and rainy weather, HVO field crews took this photo at 3:34 p.m. HST on January 21, 2021, from the south side of Kīlauea's summit caldera. The photo shows Halema‘uma‘u's active west vent, which overflowed its tubed-over lower half at 2:51 p.m. HST that afternoon.  It then proceeded to create a pāhoehoe flow (the lighter gray in the photo with a orange, molten leading edge to the east) that flowed to the east around the large rafted island in the middle of the lava lake. USGS photo by D. Downs.