Videos

An eruption in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, began yesterday afternoon and continues this morning. During an overflight at approximately 7:30 a.m. HST on September 30, 2021, several fountaining sources were active in the crater, including those in the lake center and on the west wall. USGS video by M. Patrick.

Lava fountains through the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea's summit, create waves or ripples in the lake surface. The ripples are visible on the surface as thin crustal plates move apart and back together again as the wave motion passes by (like inner tubes in a crowded wave pool), creating a moving arc of increased glow.

A new Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater began at approximately 3:20 p.m. HST on September 29, 2021, with fountains appearing on the central crater floor, creating a new lava lake. This video shows the dominant fountain, south of the lake center, on the evening of September 29, 2021. USGS video by M. Patrick.

A new Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater began at approximately 3:20 p.m. HST on September 29, 2021, with fountains appearing on the central crater floor, where a lava lake had been active from December 2020 until May 2021. Just after 4:40 p.m., a new vent opened on the west wall of the crater, and the initial moments were captured in this video.

A new Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater began at approximately 3:20 p.m. HST on September 29, 2021, with fountains appearing on the central crater floor, creating a new lava lake. This video shows numerous vents active on the west crater wall. USGS video by M. Patrick.

A new Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater began at approximately 3:20 p.m. HST on September 29, 2021, with fountains appearing on the central crater floor, creating a new lava lake. This video shows numerous fountaining sources in the central portion of the lava lake during the evening of September 29, 2021. USGS video by M. Patrick.

Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory retired geologist Don Swanson on a virtual field visit to an exposure of the Keanakāko‘i Tephra near the summit of Kīlauea as part of Volcano Awareness Month.

The eruption in Halema`uma`u crater, at the summit of Kilauea, is no longer active. The lava lake that was active between December 2020 and May 2021 remains solidified at the surface. A routine summit overflight observed no signs of residual incandescence in cracks, and only a diffuse gas plume rising from the northern portion of the lake.
 

This video shows a typical day on Mauna Loa, captured from a new webcam looking south towards the volcano. The field of view covers the summit region and much of the Northeast Rift Zone.

The area of active surface lava has diminished over the past month in Halema`uma`u crater, at the summit of Kilauea. Today, active surface lava was limited to a small pond, about 20 meters (yards) long. The pond surface was normally covered with a stationary crust, but occasionally resurfaced. This video shows crustal foundering during a resurfacing event.

The lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active but has diminished in area and vigor over the past month. This thermal timelapse sequence shows the changes in the lake activity over the past month. In mid-April the area of active surface lava in the lake was approximately 7.5 acres (3 hectares).

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, remains active. This video is shown at 30x speed and shows the lava supplying the lake from the western fissure, with scattered crustal foundering across the lake surface. 
 

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, remains active. This video is shown at 20x speed and shows the lava supplying the lake from the western fissure. 
 

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, remains active. This video shows spattering from a small vent at the western fissure. 
 

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted a routine helicopter overflight of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Active surface lava remains limited to a small area in the western portion of the lake, with the eastern portion solidified at the surface.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the east rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater to make observations of Kīlauea's summit lava lake and survey the eastern portion of the crater. This video compilation shows different aspects of the lake activity in the western portion of the crater. 

KPcam webcam on the flank of Mauna Loa looks south towards the summit of Kīlauea to monitor the gas plume from the active lava lake. This time-lapse video shows a typical day for the summit plume. Clear views in the night and morning show the low, ground-hugging plume carried to the southwest by the tradewinds.

This video shows the inlet along the western margin of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The lava stream was moving slowly but steadily, and was emerging beneath a portion of crust attached to the lake margin. The video is shown at 10x speed.
 

The lava lake remains active in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This video shows the inlet where lava from the western fissure is supplied to the lake. The motion of the lava stream is sluggish, and this video is shown at 20x speed.
 

This thermal video shows the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava is supplied from the western fissure, in the upper left portion of the video. Small vent openings atop the western fissure exhibit rhythmic gas puffing. The video is shown at 5x speed. 
 

This time-lapse sequence shows the growth of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. The sequence starts on December 28, about a week after the start of the eruption and ends on March 10, 2021. The lake rises rapidly at first but then eventually slows down as the eruption rate gradually declines.