Images

This photo shows the levee that bounds the southern margin of the active lake in Halema‘uma‘u. The levee is formed, in part, by numerous small crustal plates pushed over the rim. USGS photo by M. Patrick on March 22, 2021.

On Thursday, March 18, lava continued to erupt from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea Volcano's summit. Two lava inlets near the base of the west vent (center) supply lava into the lava lake. This photo was taken around 7:15 a.m.

On March 18, 2021, morning light illuminated the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea Volcano's summit. Small collapses of the cone have accumulated into a loose pile of rubble (left) on the stagnant crust at its base—adjacent to the active lava lake (lower-right). USGS photo by K. Lynn.

On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2021, a rainbow was observed adjacent to the active lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. This photo was taken around 11:00 a.m. HST from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Outline of the Steamboat and Cistern plumbing systems, with two viewing angles. The structure, color-coded by depth, delineates the observed seismically active area during eruption cycles of Steamboat Geyser. The solid star, solid square, and open triangles denote Steamboat Geyser, Cistern Spring, and seismic station locations on the surface, respectively.

Outline of the Steamboat and Cistern plumbing systems. The structure, color-coded by depth, delineates the observed seismically active area during eruption cycles of Steamboat Geyser. The solid star, solid square, and open triangles denote Steamboat Geyser, Cistern Spring, and seismic station locations on the surface, respectively.

View of the lava lake from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, looking north. The western (left) portion of the lava lake remains active, with small scale crustal foundering events. Lava enters the lake at two sources approximately 20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 ft) apart at the base of the western vent spatter cone.

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 221 m (725 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 737 m (2418 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020.

This map shows the response time people can expect based on Mauna Loa eruptions over the past 200 years.  Different sectors around Mauna Loa are colored according to how quickly lava flows can reach populated areas.  The warmer the color, the more quickly the flows travel.

View looking to the northwest of western fissure area of Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the Kīlauea summit on March 11, 2021. There is a small incandescent opening at the top of the main (southern) west vent spatter cone (middle-left), and a few smaller incandescent openings at the top of the northern west vent spatter cone (right of the main cone).

View of the lava lake from the southern rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, looking north. The western portion of the lava lake remains active, with small scale crustal foundering events. The white steam from the crater walls is more pronounced due to the heavy rain of the last couple of days.

A wider view of the western portion of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea on Sunday, March 7. The lake has developed a subtle levee on its south margin (just below the center of the photo), with several lava streams cascading down onto the lower level on the eastern end of the levee. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A close-up of the western fissure on Sunday, March 7, within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. The photos shows a minor change in the vent configuration over the preceding few days. A new lava stream was active north of the normal lava stream entering the lake. This new lava stream was perched above the lake surface, and fed a narrow channel entering the lake.

On Friday, HVO geologists observed a breakout from the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. This photo shows the vent about an hour before the breakout occurred on the northern side of the cone.

View of the lava lake from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, looking east. There is a small incandescent opening at the top of the west vent spatter cone (bottom-center). Volcanic gas emissions from the active west vent and are being transported to the southwest (bottom-right) by the wind.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater remains active. This view looking to the northwest on Wednesday, March 4, 2021, focuses on the active portion of the lake; the eastern stagnant portion is out of view to the right. Lava enters the lake at the base of the western vent spatter cone (left).

HVO's overflight today also included KILAUEA's lower East Rift Zone, where geologists continue to document and map the 2018 eruption deposits. Fissure 8, visible in the center of this photo, emits steam as this geologically-young feature continues to cool.

During the overflight of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone on March 4, HVO scientists documented different lava textures in the fissure 8 flow field that formed during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption. This photo shows an area of fissure 8 flows near the ocean. Both rubbly ‘a‘ā (brownish black) and smooth pāhoehoe (grey) are visible. USGS image by K.

Subtle steaming was visible at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō during HVO's overflight of Kīlauea on March 4, 2021. Steam is normally visible as the vent—which was active for more than 35 years—continues to cool, following the 2018 Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō collapse.

Another view of Kīlauea caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Ha‘akulamanu (Sulphur Banks) trail is visible in the foreground. The gas plume rising from Halema‘uma‘u in the background marks where the current eruption is taking place. Uēkahuna—the summit of Kīlauea—is visible in the upper right portion of the image. USGS image by K.

Data from a Kīlauea summit helicopter overflight on March 4th allowed for the calculation of the depth of the lava in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The deepest parts of the lake (darkest reds) exceed 200 meters (650 feet). Different-colored lines in Halema‘uma‘u show the perimeter of the lava lake and the vents over the course of the eruption.