Multimedia Gallery

Low fountaining remains active in the western fissure, supplying lava to the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Spatter deposits have built up a spatter cone around the vent. Occasional collapses of the unstable cone rim drop large chunks into the vent, disrupting the fountaining and creating a more chaotic spray of lava around the cone. 
 

This video taken on January 12, 2021, shows the west vent within Halema'uma'u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Low fountaining of about 5 m (16 ft) high is visible inside the spatter cone that has formed. The fountain is producing a cascade of lava—about 35 m (115 ft)—down to the lava lake.
 

A helicopter overflight on the morning of January 12, provided airborne views of the lava lake and active fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Low fountaining was present at the western fissure, with active surface lava limited to the western portion of the lava lake. The eastern half of the lake was covered by cooler, solidified surface lava. 
 

This video taken on January 11, 2021 shows the surface activity had increased at the western fissure over the past two days, within Halema'uma'u at the summit of Kīlauea. Low fountaining was supplying lava to an open channel that poured into the lava lake. 
 

This video shows crustal foundering and resurfacing at the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea on January 8, 2021. Recently this foundering process has been common in the eastern portion of the lake. The video is shown at 20x speed.

This video shows activity at the western fissure, in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea on January 8, 2021. The lava stream entering the lake appeared weaker than several days ago, when a dome fountain was active.
 

Visual photographs taken during a helicopter overflight of Halema'uma'u crater on January 7, 2021 (at Kīlauea Volcano) are used to create a 3D model of the crater. This technique is called structure-from-motion photogrammetry and uses the multiple perspectives captured in dozens of photos to reconstruct the crater shape on a computer. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

A helicopter overflight at approximately 10:30 a.m. HST provided views of the ongoing eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. Video is shown at 3 x speed. HVO geologists noted that the dome fountain, which had been persistent near the base of the west vent area, had subsided and was no longer present. Lava continues to enter the lake at the base of the west vents. Visual and

Telephoto video of lava flow and fountaining in Halema‘uma‘u lava lake; spatter bursts from the active west fissure vent in Halema‘uma‘u.

1. Clip 1: The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater is being fed by two sources from the western fissure today, the tubed over lava stream entering the lava lake at the margin (initiated yesterday) and the small dome fountain (

Gearing up for Landing Day - An Interview with USGS Scientist and Mars Rover Team Member, Dr. Ken Herkenhoff

USGS Astrogeology has been involved in the Perseverance Mission from selecting the landing site and generating a map of the area that is on board the rover to rover operations once Perseverance lands on the red planet. Learn more about Astrogeology's

Gearing up for Landing Day - An Interview with USGS Contractor and Mars Rover Team Member, Alicia Vaughan

USGS Astrogeology has been involved in the Perseverance Mission from selecting the landing site and generating a map of the area that is on board the rover to rover operations once Perseverance lands on the red planet. Learn more about Astrogeology's involvement

The activity at the Halema‘uma‘u west vent area on January 5, 2021, was dynamic. In the foreground, a “dome fountain” upwells from beneath the lake surface, pulsing with a bubble-like geometry. Just behind it, an effusive lava flow emerges from the base of the vent structure. A mid-elevation vent is also active, emitting another effusive lava flow. Finally, the higher

The waves of sugar cane that once defined the Hawaiian island landscape of Maui, have slowly given way to non-native annual grasses in recent decades. Those grasses have become a fire hazard along the way.

The closure of central Maui's last large cane mill in 2016 opened up some 36,000 acres for new growth. Some of those acres burned in 2019 during one of the island

Lava forms a “dome fountain” at the inlet to the lava lake in Halema'uma'u crater January 2-3, 2021. Lava from the western vent cascades beneath roofed vertical channels to enter the lava lake at an inlet that has become partially submerged. The result is a rolling upwelling of lava near the inlet called a “dome fountain.”

Dome fountains have been observed during

These videos show an increase in the surface activity where lava is entering the lake. 

• Clip 1: Lava from Halema‘uma‘u west vents entering the lava lake on December 31, 2020, at approximately 10 a.m. HST.
• Clip 2: Lava from Halema‘uma‘u west vents entering the lava lake on January 2, 2021, at approximately 11 p.m. HST.

Kīlauea Volcano, U.S

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring around a gage indicates it is flooding. As hurricane season came to a close, two final hurricanes made

Videos of the eruption and lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u on January 1, 2021.

• Clip 1: Halema‘uma‘u west vents and lava entering the lava lake at approximately 5:30 p.m. HST.
• Clip 2: Telephoto view of lava from Halema‘uma‘u west vents entering the lava lake at approximately 5 p.m. HST.
• Clip 3: The lava lake overflows onto a lower edge along the

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, provides an overview of activity at Yellowstone during December 2020.
 

A 2020 year in review of the many accomplishments of the US Geological Survey. A year that began with seismic activity in Southwest Puerto Rico, to the first-ever public testing of USGS ShakeAlerts, USGS scientists and technicians helped to track storm data during the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season. Mapping in high resolution the Nation's rivers and streams, to precise

Watch the changes in the growing lava lake within Halema'uma'u crater in these thermal maps from December 21-30, 2020.

In the first thermal map (December 21, 2020), the lake area is about 33 acres. In the last thermal map (December 30, 2020), the lake is about 82 acres. The dimensions of the lava lake are now 875 yd on the E-W axis (7+ football fields) and 580 yd on

This video, taken with a telephoto lens from an observation location on the rim, shows a process called “foundering”, in which a segment of cool lava crust on the surface of the lava lake is overridden by less-dense liquid from below causing the crust to sink into the underlying lake lava. Density-driven crustal foundering leading to surface renewal occurs repeatedly

Video from a helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit eruption on December 30, 2020, around 10:00 a.m., shows the western vents (area of bluish-colored gas emissions on left) erupting through crusted-over channels into a lava lake within Halema'uma'u crater.

As of December 30, at 3:45 a.m., the lava lake was 181 m (593 ft) deep. The lake volume was about 23 million

Kīlauea Volcano, U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory timelapse of thermal imagery showing Halema‘uma‘u west vents and lava entering the lava lake. This timelapse was taken over one hour, between approximately 10 and 11 p.m on December 29, 2020.