Images

A portion of Crater Rim Drive that was damaged during Kīlauea's 2018 summit collapse events was visible during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight on March 2, 2022. Crater Rim Drive used to go around Kīlauea summit caldera within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Aerial view showing Keanakāko‘i crater, located on the south side of Kīlauea summit caldera. Crater Rim Drive, which remains closed to vehicles, is visible cross-cutting the image. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has opened an eruption viewing area to the north of Keanakāko‘i crater, which is is visible in approximately the bottom center portion of the image.

A helicopter overflight on March 2, 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 helicopter overflight on March 2, 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.

Summit tiltmeter data (green) shown against lava lake level (blue).  The top panel is for the time period 12/1/2017–1/30/2018 and is representative of the “old” lava lake.  For this panel, lake level was retrieved from thermal camera images, hence it is given in units of “pixels.”  The bottom panel is from 1/15/2022–2/15/2022; in this case, the lake l

On Friday, February 18, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists visited the Halema‘uma‘u crater rim to observe the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. At the time of their visit, the lava lake in the western portion of the crater had drained substantially in association with deflation of the summit region.

A portion of the updated 2021 Geologic Map of the State of Hawai‘i showing part of the District of Puna in the County of Hawaii, where recent lava flow units have been added to the map. In this figure, the new lava flow units have been colored differently than the published map to emphasize their location. USGS map.

A 1-meter (3-foot)-high standing wave was present in the spillway that is feeding the active portion of Kīlauea's summit lava lake, as seen from the west side of Halema‘uma‘u crater (in the vicinity of the KWcam and looking to the east). USGS photo by L. Gallant

This view of the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u was captured on February 10, 2022. The pond north of the west vent generally feeds the active part of the lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea volcano through the spillway seen on the top right of the photograph.

This image was captured by the F1cam, a thermal camera located on the west rim of the caldera and looking east, at 4:42 a.m. HST on February 10, 2022. It shows the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS image. 

On the afternoon of Monday, February 7, 2022, Kīlauea's summit lava lake activity was located on the west side of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea was visibly full beneath overcast skies during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory eruption monitoring field shift on February 4, 2022. This photo was taken from west rim of the Kīlauea caldera, in the vicinity of the KWcam. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

Lava cascades from a pond north of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u into the active lava lake in the western portion of the crater. On the afternoon of February 4, the pond was measured as about one meter (a few feet) higher than the larger lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

The west vent in Halema‘uma‘u was glowing as Kīlauea's summit eruption continued through the afternoon of February 4, 2022. From the west rim of Kīlauea caldera, HVO geologists could hear gas-jetting noises from the west vent, as well as from the spatter features on the inactive lava lake surface in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

During the afternoon of February 4, HVO geologists observed abundant spattering within the perched margin of the active part of the lava lake in the west portion of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. Over the weekend, the eruption has continued, with slight fluctuations in lava output. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

The western part of Kīlauea's current summit eruption, showing the active part of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. This lava lake is being fed from a small pond to the north of the impressive west vent. This photo was taken around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, from the west rim of Halemaʻumaʻu. USGS photo by D. Downs.

The small 20-meter (66 foot)-wide pond to the north of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater. This pond feeds the active part of the lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea volcano via a small cascade of only a meter or two (several feet) down into the larger lava lake. This photo was taken around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u.

Photo of the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater, which has been built up with spattering lava thrown out since the current Kīlauea summit eruption began in September 2021. In this photo, the west vent interior glows and is emitting a heavy sulfur dioxide-rich plume.

Recent activity at the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava upwelling at the western vent flows into the lake, where bubbling is commonly present. USGS image by M. Patrick.

This unoccupied aircraft system (UAS) photograph shows the western eruptive vent (upper left) and lava pond (center right) within Halemaʻumaʻu crater during an eruptive pause on January 28, 2022. The pond hosts the only active lava in this view. The western impounding walls of the drained lava lake are visible from center to lower left of this image.

A view of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake, at Kīlauea summit, from the western crater rim. Lava within the main western lava lake (lower center) drained overnight, and now all active surface lava is confined to the small lava pond north (left) of the west vent. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on January 28, 2022.