Images

A close-up of spiny-textured pāhoehoe lava oozing out from a small crack in the crust.

YVO Webcam, October 27, 2012. Webcam overlooks Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

The lava lake fills Overlook crater, about 160 m (525 ft) across, contained within Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The walls of Halema‘uma‘u Crater show white in the middle distance, while the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and NPS Jaggar Museum, perched on the edge of Kīlauea Caldera, are visible as a small bump on the horizon.

The lava lake fills Overlook crater, about 160 m (525 ft) across, contained within Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The walls of Halema‘uma‘u Crater show white in the middle distance, while the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and NPS Jaggar Museum, perched on the edge of Kīlauea Caldera, are visible as a small bump on the horizon.

Incandescent lines mark the boundaries between migrating crustal plates on the surface of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. Here, and at other lava lakes across the world, these rifting zones have a characteristic zigzag pattern.

Vigorous spattering was present this evening along the western margin of the summit lava lake. Occasional bursts, like the one shown here, appeared to send tiny bits of spatter up to the level of the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Sunset, with the vigorous spattering source on the west margin of the lake visible.

Sunset, with the vigorous spattering source on the west margin of the lake visible.

Incandescent lines mark the boundaries between migrating crustal plates on the surface of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. Here, and at other lava lakes across the world, these rifting zones have a characteristic zigzag pattern.

Close-up photo of the lava lake surface.

The lava lake in the 'overlook' vent in Halema‘uma‘u reached to within 38 m of the crater floor, filling the entire bottom of the vent.

Dust from a small rockfall coats a small section of the lava lake surface and wafts above the rockfall's impact scar.

A rebound splash from a small impacting rock jets several meters above the lake surface.

View of the lava lake at Kīlauea's summit at sunset. The lake is about 42 m (138 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u.

The small lava lake in the pit on the northeastern side of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor remains active as well. Lava rises at the right side of the lake (west) and sinks where the heavy fume is rising at the left side (east).

A closer view of the spattering at the point of downwelling. From the position of the Halema‘uma‘u webcam at the visitor overlook, the spattering looks like it might be at the base of the crater wall. This photo shows that the spattering is actually 60-70 m (200-230 ft) out from the wall, toward the center of the pit.

Lava erupting from a vent on the northeast flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō travels through tubes to the coastal plain, where surface flows are currently active. Holes in the roof of the lava tube, called skylights, reveal the lava stream contained within.

The lava lake at Kīlauea's summit remains high, probably 45-50 m (150-165 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater. This view, looking toward the southwest, shows the lava ledge on the rarely seen southern side of the pit. The spattering is at the point where the circulating lava lake sinks back down.

The lava lake at Kīlauea's summit was about 46 m (150 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater today—the highest it has reached.

A portrait view of the lava lake with the opposite wall of Halema‘uma‘u beyond and the caldera wall of Kīlauea in the background. Jaggar Museum and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) adorn the summit of Kīlauea at upper right.

Tina Neal responding to Kīlauea’s Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption in November of 1983. At that time, USGS personal protective equipment standards differed.