Images

The feature shown in the photograph is a drainage outlet for the active lava lake of Halema‘uma‘u, a crater within the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano. Surface plates from the active lake surface are dragged into the outlet and churned up. A small standing wave, about 1 meter or 1 yard tall, is present in the center of the outlet structure.

The vent within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was degassing during a field observation visit on the morning of May 18, 2022. The vent is 56 feet tall (17 meters) and has a small puka (hole) visible with bright red glowing lava within on the right side of the photograph.

Image from the B1cam webcam on the east rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS image. 

A view of Isaac Hale Beach Park (also known as Pohoiki) in the lower Puna District on the Island of Hawai‘i. Lava from the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption, emplaced in late July 2018, is visible on the left. USGS photo taken during a helicopter overflight on May 12, 2022, by N. Deligne.

 Ahuʻailāʻau (the cone built during the eruption of Fissure 8) was the most active vent during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea on the Island of Hawai‘i. During a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory routine monitoring overflight on May 12, 2022, the prominent feature was visible in the row of fissures. USGS photo J. Schmith.

Kapoho Crater, with its lush green slopes, was surrounded by lava during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea. Lava flowed all the way around and into the center of the crater, covering the lower part of the cone. Now, the slopes of the crater form a Kīpuka, or area surrounded by younger lava flows. USGS photo by J. Schmith on May 12, 2022.

Map comparing two months of earthquake activity in the region deep beneath Pāhala from (a) March 1, 2014, to May 1, 2014, and (b) March 1, 2022, to May 1, 2022. Earthquake locations are marked by circles that are colored by depth; blue circles indicate earthquakes that occurred 20–40 km (12–25 miles) below sea level.

A view of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea, taken during a helicopter overflight the morning of May 10, 2022. The image is taken from the east side of the crater looking to the west. The west vent cone complex can be seen in the far western side of the lake.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on May 16, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor.

A view of the former Jaggar Museum and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory buildings, located on the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The buildings were closed in 2018 due to damage to the buildings during the Kīlauea summit collapse events of that year.

A helicopter overflight on May 10, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A telephoto image of the west vent (lower right) and active lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, the crater within Kīlauea volcano's summit caldera. Spattering lava is visible around the eastern (top) and southern (upper right) lake margins. The lava lake is approximately 168 m (551 ft) east-west (top to bottom), and 60 m (197 ft) north-south (left to right).

A view of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea taken from the south, looking north. An orange glow can be seen in the active part of the lava lake. The dark gray area at the bottom of the photo is a lava flow from September 1982. The dark tan exposure to the north of the 1982 flow is the Keanakāko‘i Ash (ca. 1500–1820 CE).

A wide view of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, looking east. Volcanic gas emission rates remain elevated, with sulfur dioxide measured at about 2,800 tonnes per day on May 12. Volcanic gasses are emitted from the west vent complex, the active lava lake, and from other cracks around the crater floor. USGS photo taken by L.

An overflight at approximately 10 a.m. on May 10, 2022, provided aerial views of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. Lava continues to erupt from the west vent area, supplying an active lava pond in the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u within Kīlauea summit caldera. USGS photograph by K. Mulliken. 

A helicopter overflight on May 10, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A) Top left, photo of Halemaʻumaʻu before the 2018 collapse events started with the decade-long active lava lake that formed in 2008. B) Top right, photo after the 2018 collapse events had dropped the crater floor of Halemaʻumaʻu by more than 1,600 ft (500 m) over the course of just 4 months.

The eruption continues within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of KILUAEA on April 26, 2022. The active lava lake is visible within the middle right of the photo and has a silvery surface appearance. Within the active lava lake, lava flows from an inlet on the west (bottom) margin towards the east.

 Telephoto view looking east of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. The western vent complex is located at the bottom of the photo; incandescence is visible near the top of within the tallest cone on the right bottom of the photograph. USGS photo by N. Deligne. 

Telephoto view looking east of the southeast embayment of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, Kīlauea, on April 26 2022. In this photo, lava from the active lava lake (silvery grey surface in lower left quadrant of photo) cascades into the southeast embayment (red surface).

a) Haleakalā Silversword growing on the edge of Haleakalā Crater (approximately 410–530 years post-eruption). Photo by Paul Krushelnycky. b) Fireweed growing on the slopes of Mount St. Helens (five years post-eruption). Photo by Lyn Topinka. c) A blooming ‘ōhi‘a tree growing on what used to be the Kīlauea Iki lava lake (56 years post-eruption).