Images

The lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active. The active lava was retained by a levee several meters (yards) high along the west margin. The levee is formed from numerous small rafted crustal plates that have stacked upon one another, and likely fused together. USGS photo taken by M. Patrick on February 17, 2021.

Active surface lava has been limited to the western portion of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo shows a large portion of this western zone. The surface is composed of a patchwork of small, angular crustal plates separated by darker spreading zones. USGS photo taken by M. Patrick on February 17, 2021.

This photo of the erupting western fissure in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea was captured during a helicopter overflight on the morning of Tuesday, February 16. The degassing cone was not visibly spattering during the overflight, but the lava inlet near the base of the cone is evidence of continued effusion into the lava lake. USGS photo taken by M.

On Friday, February 12, HVO scientists hiked along the rim of Halema‘uma‘u to capture photos of the lava lake from different vantage points. In this photo from the northwest rim, the active western fissure is tucked into the lower-right corner of the crater.

A telephoto image of the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. Lava is being supplied to the active western lava lake through the inlet at the base of the vent (lower-center). This photo was taken from the southern rim of Halema‘uma‘u, within an area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that remains closed to the public for safety reasons.

While hiking along the rim of the 2018 collapse at the summit of Kīlauea on Friday, February 12, HVO scientists visited a site to the southeast of Halema‘uma‘u known as Akanikōlea—a culturally-significant place that is featured in Hawaiian legends.

This photo shows the southwest region of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea summit. Foundering of the active lava lake surface crust—a common process where liquid lava overrides and submerges crust—was observed by HVO scientists on February 12.

This telephoto image of the western vent was taken from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. An incandescent opening near the top of the cone (center) was producing rare spatter on February 12. The inlet into the lava lake is visible in the upper-center. SO₂ emission rates remain elevated. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither.

No major changes were observed at the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater during the field visit to Kīlauea Volcano's summit on Thursday, February 11. The western fissure, shown here, remained active with lava entering the lake at the normal inlet site.

A close-up of the inlet zone showing the small upwelling area at the western margin of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea Volcano's summit. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The flow of the lake around a small island, south of the inlet zone, formed a heart-shaped outline in the western portion of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea Volcano's summit. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Crinoid fossil from a Paleozoic rock unit found in northern Yellowstone National Park.

Twilight view of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea Volcano's summit. This photo, taken from the southern rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater and looking northward, shows the active western (left) portion of the lava lake, which has hot incandescent lava visible at boundaries between plates on the lava lake.

This Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) photo from Tuesday, February 9, shows the main island in the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake. The lake surface on the eastern (lower-center) side of the island has been stagnant and crusted over recently. The western fissure that has been feeding the lava lake is visibly degassing in the background.

This Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) photo from Tuesday, February 9, shows the stagnant, crusted-over eastern portion of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake. This photo is looking to the east, towards the easternmost end of the lake, with the active western fissure behind and out-of-view.

An aerial view of the Halema‘uma‘u crater lava lake on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 as viewed from the south during a helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit. Lava continues to erupt and enter into the lava lake from the inlet at the base of the west vent, which is visibly incandescent on the left in the photo.

A zoomed-in aerial view of the active west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater taken during the helicopter overflight on February 9. Lava erupted from the west vent continues to enter the active lava lake through an inlet at the base of the cone. SO₂ emission rates remain elevated and were measured at 2,200 t/d on February 1. USGS photo taken by B. Carr.

A wide aerial photo of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater taken during a Kīlauea summit overflight on February 9, 2021. This view, looking west, shows the active west vent degassing (center). Mauna Loa Volcano is visible in the background with a snow-covered summit. USGS photo taken by B. Carr.

This Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) photo from Tuesday, February 9 shows the active western portion of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake. The western fissure continues to supply lava to the lava lake from an inlet at the base of the spatter cone (upper-left). For scale, the distance from the lava inlet to the edge of the main island is approximately 160 m (525 ft).

Photo of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at Kīlauea summit. Photo taken from the west side of Kīlauea caldera rim taken at 3:04 p.m. HST. This photo shows the west vent feeding the active western part of the lava lake, as well as the inactive eastern part of the lava lake.

This photo shows an area near the center of Kīlauea's summit lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, where lobes of lava from the western fissure (beyond the left edge of this photo) would episodically advance and stall.