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November 29, 2021

An eruption at Kīlauea's summit began at approximately 3:20 p.m. HST on September 29, 2021. Lava activity is currently confined within Halema‘uma‘u crater, in the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. 

HVO scientists collect detailed data to assess hazards and understand how the eruption is evolving at Kīlauea's summit, all of which are shared with the National Park Service and emergency managers. Access to this hazardous area is by permission from, and in coordination with, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Lava continues to erupt from a perched lava pond within the west vent of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. This video shows nearly continuous spatter bursts through the pond and a roiling and sloshing pond surface. At about 43 seconds into the video, a white-trailed tropicbird (koa‘e kea) flies through the frame. These birds make their homes in the walls of Halema‘uma‘u crater and are frequently seen flying around the crater. 
Color photograph of an active lava lake with a degassing volcanic cone to the left
View from the south looking at the western, active part of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Effusion into the lava lake is slow and steady with a few red-orange incandescent patches of lava visible within the flat black part of the lava lake. The perched margin of the active lava lake is visible around its perimeter. USGS photo by D. Downs.
Telephoto image of an active lava lake at the base of a volcanic vent
View from the south looking at the active west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea summit. The vent is mostly obscured by a plume of steam and sulfur dioxide, with a little spatter visible. A lava flow is slowly entering the lava lake from the base of the scoria cone that has been constructed around the west vent. USGS photo by D. Downs.

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