Images

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.

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.

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.

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 telephoto view of the northeastern edge of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Two steep-sided spatter cones (near center) have been making audible gas-jetting sounds which have been noted by field crews over the past few days.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on January 28, 2022. One eruptive vent is intermittently active within Halema‘uma‘u, along the western edge of the lava lake. When this vent is effusing lava, it pours into the active portion of the lake, colored red on this map.

A telephoto view of the west vent and lava pond within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. On January 28, HVO field crews only observed active lava within the small lava pond to the north (upper left) of the west vent (lower right). A diffuse volcanic gas plume was being emitted from the west vent. USGS photo taken by L.

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.

This telephoto view, taken from the northeast rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater and looking to the southwest, shows newly developed spatter cones on the surface of the inactive lava lake in the eastern portion of the crater. These features are similar in appearance to hornitos, which are steep and conical structures that form over lava tubes.

On January 27, HVO scientists surveyed parts of the downdropped block in Kīlauea’s summit caldera, north of Halema‘uma‘u crater, for an area to deploy a new continuous gravity instrument funded through the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R.

A helicopter overflight on January 25, 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 January 25, 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.

View looking westward toward the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, taken during a helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at 10:46 a.m. HST. Visitors can be seen at the teardrop-shaped Keanakāko‘i viewing area in the bottom, center of the image.

This telephoto view of the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u was captured on January 25, 2022. The Kīlauea summit eruption had been paused for several days, but the eruption resumed several hours before this photo was taken. Over the course of those hours, lava breakouts from the south side of the west vent spatter cone built a small lava shield (left).

Emily Bryant, a geologist and field engineer visiting from the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, installs an upgraded webcam on the east rim of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lava lake is in the western half of the crater, in the upper right portion of the photo.

This telephoto image shows two lava falls in the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea on January 25, 2022. These lava falls, along the southeastern edge of the active portion of the lava lake, were feeding a lava flow towards the south wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

View of the western side of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, on January 21, 2022. The image shows the west vent cone (lower left) and orange lava cascading from a pond just north of the west vent into the larger active lava lake to the east (right). USGS photo taken on the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u by J.M. Chang.

View of the west vent cone and adjacent pond of lava flowing into the larger active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. A small amount of spatter can be seeing erupting from the vent. USGS photo taken on the south rim by J.M. Chang.

Close-up view of spattering lava at the margin of the active lava lake in the western side of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Blue-tinged sulfurous fumes can be seen emanating from the active lava lake. USGS photo taken on the south rim by J.M. Chang.

Telephoto view of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater after it resumed erupting in the late morning of January 18, 2022. A lighter gray gray recent lava flow is visible emanating from the west vent, and active lava upwells from the lava pond adjacent to the west vent in the upper left part of the photo.