Images

A view of the western portion of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo, taken from the west crater rim, shows the active west vent (lower right), the main island (upper left), and the old west vent from the Dec. 2020–May 2021 eruption (lower left).

A view of the fountaining at the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The photo was taken from the west rim, looking down upon the vent. Low fountaining and roiling within the cone supplied lava to the lake via a narrow spillway. Lava spreading out into the lake develops a zig-zag pattern in the surface crust. USGS photo by M.

A wide view of the ongoing eruption at Kīlauea summit, from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u. A vent on the western crater wall (left) continues to supply lava to the active west half of the lava lake.

Associated with an increase in fountaining activity at the main western vent in Halema‘uma‘u, a short-lived vent opened just to the north (right). Activity at this vent lasted about 10 hours with low-level fountaining about 3 meters (10 ft) high.

Lava fountains from the western vent within Halema‘uma‘u continue to supply lava into the lava lake through a short spillway. Consistent fountain heights of 10–15 meters (30–50 ft) were interrupted by frequent larger busts of spatter exceeding the height of the cone (30 m or 100 ft). USGS photo taken by B. Carr on October 12, 2021.

VMAP Vog Dashboard: public forecast for October 11, 2021. Colors denote probability of exceeding ‘Moderate’ sulfur dioxide air quality threshold. Source: http://weather.hawaii.edu/vmap/new/

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on October 11, 2021, through the lens of a laser rangefinder. A prominent horseshoe-shaped spatter cone, measured to be standing 28 m (92 ft) above the adjacent lava lake, surrounds a roiling lava pond which also hosts taller fountains at times.

This zoomed-in view of the northwest side of the main island within the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake shows a "rootless lava flow" (silver) that formed in the early stages of the eruption on September 29, 2021.

Fountaining at the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea volcano's summit, was approximately 15 meters (50 feet) high on the evening of October 10, 2021. Spatter from the fountaining would occasionally land on the wall of the vent cone and cool (visible on the right).

Lava fountaining activity continues from the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u, within Kīlauea summit caldera, viewed at dusk on October 10, 2021, from the west rim of the crater. Only the western half of the lake surface is active; the eastern half is covered by a cooling, solidified crust. USGS image by B. Carr.

HVO scientists captured this zoomed-in photo of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u through the lens of a laser rangefinder on October 9, 2021. The fissure has formed a horseshoe-shaped spatter cone around its source, with an opening on the east (right) side allowing lava to flow into the active lava lake.

The eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea's summit, continues to feed a growing lava lake. Photos taken during helicopter overflights of the crater allow HVO scientists to create elevation maps of the rising lake’s surface. The surface area of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake is now 553000 square meters, or 157 acres.

The surface area of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea is now 553,000 square meters, or 157 acres. At its widest point, the lake is a kilometer wide (0.62 mile).

The elevation profiles running East-West across Halema‘uma‘u crater show the rise of the lava lake surface during the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea. The lake lake is now about 260 m (850 feet) deep, and has risen nearly 30 m (98 feet) above the previous lake surface since the eruption began on September 29.

In this overflight photo of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake, captured on October 8, 2021 and looking from the northeast, two western fissures are visible: one inactive from the December 2020–May 2021 Kīlauea summit eruption (center), and another actively feeding lava into the lake at this time (upper-right).

On the morning of October 8, 2021, HVO scientists completed a routine helicopter overflight of the ongoing eruption within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea.

A Koa‘e Kea (white-tailed tropicbird) flies above the erupting west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Photo taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u at 10:41 a.m. HST on Oct. 8, 2021. USGS photo by J.M. Chang. 

USGS scientist takes video of the erupting west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Photo taken from the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u at 12:27 p.m. HST on Oct. 8, 2021. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Though not every ānuenue (rainbow) has an actively erupting volcanic fissure at its end, this one did for a brief moment during HVO scientists' helicopter overflight of the Kīlauea summit on the morning of October 8, 2021.

Late afternoon sunlight illuminates the main island in the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The island formed in the previous summit eruption (December 2020-May 2021), and was covered with fresh spatter during the opening stages of the current eruption. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A wide view of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u, taken from the northwest rim of the crater. The west vent lava fountains (right) continues to supply lava into the slowly rising lava lake. Lava fountaining is no longer visible through the central and southern portions of the lava lake surface.