September 15, 2022 — Halema‘uma‘u lava lake, Kīlauea

The steaming summit lava lake of Kīlauea in the 7 a.m. morning light of September 15. HVO geologists heard the west vent softly puffing and an insistent high-pitched hissing from the steaming northeastern embayment of the active lava pond in Halema‘uma‘u. A deeper toned hiss occasionally joined in from somewhere on the eastern side of the lake. Big shiny silvery plates of cooled crust flowed slowly across the surface of the active pond towards the eastern edge, where small splashes against the rim showed the hot glowing lava below. USGS photo by J. Schmith.