Images

The summit lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater today (Jan. 15, 2017) was about 50.5 m (166 ft) below the crater floor (vent rim). One of the most interesting things exposed by the lower lake level was the clear view of the thick, dark veneer of lava on the eastern vent wall (close-up shown below).

A tiltmeter on the south flank of Kīlauea volcano flooded with water. The tiltmeter casing is less than a foot in diameter. USGS photo. 

On May 24, 2016, two new flows broke out on the flanks of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. The silvery sheen of new lava erupting from the northern 61f breakout (center) and eastern 61g breakout (upper left) stands out in contrast to the older flows on and around Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (right).

A past assumption about pumice deposits on Kīlauea Volcano has recently been proven wrong. In this photo, the eastern pumice (EP) can be seen above the golden pumice (GP), with stream deposits between the two. Photo courtesy of Sebastien Biasse, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

A USGS-HVO scientist collects Pele's hair from the parking area south of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, which has been closed since early 2008 due to ongoing volcano hazards associated with the summit lava lake.

A close-up of Pele's hair from Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake. X-ray diffraction analyses of the Pele's hair (basaltic glass) collected today will provide information on the mineralogy of Kīlauea lava, which, in turn, can shed light whether the magma supply to the volcano is constant or is changing.

This view shows Kīlauea's summit lava from the south, with the east slope of Mauna Loa in the background and Mauna Kea in the distance. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Hawai‘i National Park Service Jaggar Museum buildings are visible on the rim of Kīlauea's summit caldera, behind Halema‘uma‘u.

This photo shows the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Service Jaggar Museum buildings on the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, overlooking the summit caldera. Mauna Loa volcano looms in the background.

On Saturday, October 15, Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake overflowed the vent rim between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., and again around 6:30 p.m., HST. In this image, captured by HVO's K2 webcam, you can see small spill-overs (shiny black lava) on the east (far left) and west (right) sides of the vent rim.

This video clip shows typical spattering activity in Kīlauea's summit lava lake. This spattering was occurring along the eastern margin of the lake on the evening of October 5.

This morning, spattering along the eastern margin of Kīlauea's summit lava lake built an overhanging ledge that was attached to the Overlook Crater wall. In this image, a few long stalactites can be seen dangling from the overhang (lower right). These stalactites were flexible enough to be swinging back and forth.

This video shows spattering in two locations of Kīlauea's summit lava lake. In the first segment, spattering is active in a small area in the southern portion of the lake. In the second segment, spattering on the east margin of the lake has created an overhanging ledge with dangling lava stalactites.

Since early September 2016, Kīlauea's summit lava lake level has fluctuated, as shown in these side-by-side webcam images. On September 10 (left), the summit lava lake rose to within 5 m (16 ft) of the vent rim, only to drop the next day with the onset of summit deflation.

On September 10, 2016, Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake rose to within 5 m (16 ft) of the vent rim (shown above). This is the highest level the lake has reached since it overflowed the vent in April-May 2015, when lava flowed onto the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, forming the dark-colored rock visible on either side of the vent.

This video clip shows a few of the lava breakouts active on Kīlauea's coastal plain on September 20. The activity consisted of scattered pāhoehoe breakouts. The final segment in this video is shown at x20 speed.

During recent summit deflation, the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater dropped out of view of overlooks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. But since the switch to inflation early Sunday morning (September 18), Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake has been rising again, bringing the lake surface back into view.

The explosive interaction of hot lava entering cool seawater throws spatter (clots of molten lava, visible at center of image) from the leading edge of the lava delta forming at Kīlauea's Kamokuna ocean entry.

The lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea remained at a high level today, about 18 m (60 ft) from the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the time of this photo.

The eastern (right) lava delta is the larger of the two, with a broad span of small lava flows entering the sea creating a wide ocean entry plume. Fewer flows on the smaller western (left) entry created a weaker plume.

View of Kīlauea's summit lava lake from the north rim of Halema‘uma‘u.

On Wednesday evening (September 7), the lava lake at Kīlauea's summit reached a high level, about 8 m (26 feet) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater. This panorama shows the former Halema‘uma‘u Overlook (closed since 2008 due to volcanic hazards) at the far left.