Images

Map and plot showing earthquakes at 20-40 km (12-25 miles) depth beneath the Island of Hawai‘i over the past week. Most of the earthquakes at this depth were clustered beneath the southern edge of the island near the town of Pāhala (blue dots).  USGS graphic.

This comparison of thermal images taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, show the diminishing area of active lava on the surface over the past month. Today, active lava was limited to a small pond, about 20 meters (yards) long, near the western fissure. USGS images by M. Patrick.

This close-up view of the of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea was captured on Tuesday, May 18. During an approximately one-hour visit to the crater rim, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists' only observation of active lava was the crustal foundering event captured here, which lasted approximately five minutes.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, although surface incandescence (glowing red lava) has become less frequent over the last few days. In this view looking northwest, two elongated lobes oriented west (left) to east (right) with a relatively smooth shiny grey surface are visible in the center of the photo.

More of Kīlauea's lava lake surface in Halema‘uma‘u crater has solidified in recent weeks, as is evident in this aerial view taken yesterday, May 13. However, gas emissions and small patches of active lava on the surface indicate that the eruption continues. Most recently, gas emissions were measured as 225 tonnes per day on May 12.

A helicopter overflight on May 13, 2021, at approximately 11:30 a.m. HST allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The visual images were used to create a digital elevation model (DEM) of the crater, shown here.

The eruption in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues. Gas emissions, last measured on May 12, were 225 tonnes per day. This photo, taken on May 13, shows the bluish-tinged plume of volcanic gas being emitted from the western vent complex within Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight of Kīlauea's summit on the morning of May 13. Though no incandescence was visible during the overflight, field crews monitoring the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u from the ground observed a small amount of fluid lava on the surface later in the day.

The area of solidified crust at the surface of Halema‘uma‘u's lava lake, at the summit of Kīlauea, has been growing over the past several weeks. This may make it seem that the eruption is over but lava continues to be supplied to the lava lake from below.

Near Kīlauea Visitor Center, the Ha‘akulamanu trail within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park passes through the Sulphur Banks area.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists observed fluid lava on the surface of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, while monitoring the eruption on May 13. Two areas of ponded lava exhibited foundering, during which more-dense solidified crust sinks into the lava lake and is replaced by less-dense liquid lava from below.

A low, oblique aerial view of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit (upper right) taken during an overflight on May 13. The area of active lava has slowly been decreasing in recent weeks, but not all of the lava lake surface has stagnated. Portions of the lake surface continue to resurface via a process called foundering.

A close up view of the western portion of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. A weak gas plume is emitted from the western fissure vent (left), with the most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measured at 150 tonnes per day on May 11. USGS photograph taken by D. Downs on May 12, 2021 from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u.

A wide view of Halema‘uma‘u from the western crater rim, at the summit of Kīlauea. The west vent (lower left) continues to supply lava into the lake through a submerged inlet. Much of the western active lava lake surface has crusted over in the last few weeks as the effusion rate remains low. USGS photograph taken by D. Downs on May 12, 2021.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, as seen in this view looking northwest. The active surface lava area continues to decrease in size, and activity is weaker, with only occasional localized surface foundering.

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 229 m (751 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 746 m (2448 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020.

This close-up view of the active western portion of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea was captured on Thursday, May 6 through the lens of a laser rangefinder used by HVO scientists to measure distances to features within the crater.

View of the active surface lava in the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The west vent (upper left) continues to erupt lava into the lava lake through an inlet near the base of the cone.

Lava continues to flow from the western vent (bottom left) into the lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i. A portion of the active surface of the lava lake can be seen here with orange, incandescent lava between the west vent and the main island. This photograph was taken on Wednesday, March 5, 2021, at 12:37 p.m.

HVO scientists hiked along the closed Crater Rim Road on April 30th to retrieve acoustic (sound) sensors for a scientific study. This section of the road was damaged by earthquake activity during the 2018 Kīlauea summit caldera collapse. This stretch of road traverses part of the September 1982 lava flow, visible as a lobe of black rock on the right of the road.

On Friday, April 30, lava continued to erupt from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Active surface lava (center of the photo) was limited to the center of the previously active lake surface, where the north (right) and south (left) sides have cooled and crusted over (appearing darker in the image). This photo was taken around 2 p.m.