Kīlauea summit eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater—October 1, 2021

This telephoto image of the lava lake margin was taken during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Kīlauea summit eruption overflight this morning. The lava lake within Halemaʻumaʻu crater is forming a “perched” levee around parts of the lake perimeter. The levee is formed, in part, by pieces of the lava lake surface crust being pushed on the levee by the lake circulation. The crust slabs become stacked on top of one another in a chaotic manner, which is visible here. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on October 1, 2021.