Images

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on December 10, 2021. In this photo, spatter is seen above a perched pond at the top of the cone. The volcanic plume originating at the cone is mostly white in color with a blue tinge, indicative of water vapor and sulfur dioxide, respectively. USGS image by N.

Screen capture of the USGS Volcanoes Twitter header with the USGS Volcanoes logo and an image of the September 2021 summit eruption of Kilauea volcano.

Michelle Coombs is a volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program. She works out of the Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska.

Sunset on the evening of December 8, 2021, provided stunning views of the eruption in Halema'uma'u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photograph, taken from the Keanakākoʻi overlook within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, looks northwest from the south rim of Kīlauea caldera.

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on December 7, 2021, through the lens of a laser rangefinder.

Photograph of Charles Mandeville, Program Coordinator, USGS Volcano Hazards Program

On the sunny morning of December 3, at around 11 a.m. HST, the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater hissed with steam from large parts of the 19-meter-high (62 feet) cone after a rainfall earlier in the morning. Although the lava inside the cone was not visible, HVO field crews observed that lava continued to flow into the lava lake from the east side of the vent.

Red hot lava overturns the crust of the western end of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. These overturns are often seen along the edge of the lake by the 1-meter-high (3 ft) rim surrounding the active surface area. USGS image by J. Schmith.

Earthquakes detected by HVO’s seismic network in December 2021, with the size of the circles corresponding the earthquake magnitude and the color corresponding to the earthquake depth. The cluster of mostly blue earthquakes are from a persistent swarm about 30 km (19 miles) underneath Pāhala.

HVO staff at work in the electronics workshop. On the right side, two types of 3D printers are used to produce parts: sample holders made from bioplastic, and aerial drone parts made from carbon fiber and nylon. On the left side, a computer screen shows the inside structure of composite drone parts. USGS photo by F.

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.

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.

Lava continues to eruption from a vent on the western wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater and flow into the lava lake. The active area of the lava lake remains similar in size to the previous week. In the foreground, a down-dropped block containing a segment of the old Crater Rim Drive can be seen. The southeast flank of Mauna Loa is in the background.

Lava erupts through a perched lava pond in the active western vent of Halema‘uma‘u crater, and supplies lava to the lava lake. Spatter bursts like the one seen here disrupt the pond surface nearly continuously and occasionally throw lava outside the vent, building up the cone. This burst is approximately 5 meters (16 feet) tall. USGS photo taken by B.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on November 19, 2021. One eruptive vent is active within Halema‘uma‘u at this time, along the western edge of the rising lava lake.

A telephoto photograph of the roiling 4-7 meter (13-23 ft) lava fountains of the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The spatter cone is nearly circular, with only one outlet letting lava cascade east into the lake. Concentric lava crust rings form around where lava enters the lake from a single source with persistent flux.

Regional map of southeastern Idaho showing the relative location of Yellowstone National Park and the Stanley earthquake aftershocks. Yellowstone National Park (outlined in yellow) is at least 275 km away from the 2020 M_w6.5 Stanley earthquake. Several active faults (in red) are located between the Stanley earthquake and Yellowstone Caldera.

A helicopter overflight on November 16, 2021, at approximately 8:30 a.m. HST allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The scale of the thermal map ranges from blue to red, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures.

The elevation of the surface of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater has now risen slightly above the level of the lowest down-dropped block from the 2018 collapse of Kīlauea summit. Overnight on November 15, 2021, a lava break-out from the edge of the lake allowed lava to flow onto the surface on the block.

HVO geologists observed ongoing eruptive activity with Halema‘uma‘u crater during a helicopter overflight of the Kīlauea summit on the morning of November 16, 2021. Lava continues to erupt from a vent on the west side (far side in this photo) of Halema‘uma‘u. Low winds allowed the plume to rise vertically above the crater.

During a helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit on the morning of November 16, 2021, this aerial view (looking southwest) of the lava flow erupted in September 1982 was captured. The September 1982 lava flow exited Kīlauea summit caldera through a narrow gap, visible near the center of the photo.