Halema‘uma‘u west vent on January 25, 2022

This telephoto view of the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u was captured on January 25, 2022. The Kīlauea summit eruption had been paused for several days, but the eruption resumed several hours before this photo was taken. Over the course of those hours, lava breakouts from the south side of the west vent spatter cone built a small lava shield (left). Laser rangefinder measurements indicated that the top of the main spatter cone (right) was standing approximately 21 meters (69 feet) above the surrounding lava flows at that time. USGS photo by L. Gallant.