Volcano Hazards Program Office

KWcam image taken on October 4, 2021, just before 6 a.m. HST. This image shows the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruption began the afternoon of September 29, 2021, as fissures in the floor of the crater; this activity is generating a lava lake that is slowly filling the crater. Near-real-time images captured by the KWcam are 

The eruption continues in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This video shows the dominant fountain at the west vent, from two different angles, as well as the smaller fountaining source emerging through the lava lake. 

This zoomed-in view of the erupting western fissure in Halema‘uma‘u shows lava fountaining activity on the morning of October 4, 2021. The fountains have built a C-shaped spatter rampart around their source, which is now submerged in the rising lava lake. Using a laser rangefinder, HVO field crews measured the spatter rampart to be standing 20 m (66 ft) above the

This photo, captured on the morning of October 4, 2021, provides a zoomed-in view of the eastern edge of the main island in the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake. In the earliest days of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption, this was the site of an energetic eruptive vent that showered the island with spatter and tephra. Activity had waned substantially, but not completely: volcanic gases

A telephoto view of foundering in the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Foundering occurs when denser and cooler solidified crust (black) sinks below less dense liquid lava (orange). Photo taken at 7:48 a.m. HST on October 4, 2021. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

A wide view of the active lava lake at Kīlauea summit from the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu on the morning of October 3, 2021. The west (left) and south (bottom center) vents are visible, with the west vent fountain heights measuring 10–15 meters (33–49 ft) and the south fissure fountains measuring up to 5 meters (16 ft) high. USGS photo by D. Downs.

A telephoto image of the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The west vent lava fountain remains active with sustained heights of 10–15 meters (33–49 ft). The fountain continues to build a spatter cone around it, but is mostly out of view from this vantage point on the western crater rim. USGS photo taken by D. Downs on the morning of October 3

A telephoto image of the southern lava fountain from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea summit. This view shows most of the fissure vent that is located within the south-central part of the lava lake. The fissure is about 35 m long and has sustained low fountains heights of up to 5 meters (16 ft), with some bursts reaching up to 10 meters (33 ft) high. USGS photo

A telephoto view of the lava fountain in the western wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater during Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption. In the late afternoon on Sunday, October 3, the maximum fountain height was measured at approximately 11 meters (36 ft). This photo was taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u looking to the west around 4:00 p.m. HST. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

On Sunday, October 3, 2021, the late afternoon sunlight illuminated a perched edge of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. This view, looking to the northeast from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, shows the active lake surface (left) that is elevated a few meters (yards) above the lower trough along the crater wall (right). Overflows of the levee—such

There have been no major changes in the ongoing eruption at Kīlauea summit over the past day. All eruptive activity is confined within Halema‘uma‘u crater, in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The vent on the western wall and the fountain within the south-central portion of the lava lake remain the most vigorous and are producing the largest gas plumes. Sulfur dioxide (SO2