An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Aerial view of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight on August 1, 2019. The small green patch visible at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u is a new pond forming at the lowest point of the crater. The pond is at about 525 m (about 1722 ft) elevation.
A slightly closer view of the water in the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u taken with a telephoto lens during HVO's overflight today (August 1, 2019). USGS photo by S. Conway, 08/01/2019.
Zooming in even closer, an HVO scientist captured this image of the water on the floor of the crater during today's overflight. For more information, please read "Water or no water: that is (or was) the question"—HVO's Aug. 1, 2019, "Volcano Watch" article (https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid...). USGS photo by S. Conway, 08/01/2019.
Telephoto views of water in the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u taken during a helicopter lidar survey on July 25, 2019 (left), when the pond was first observed, and a USGS overflight on August 1, 2019 (right). The pond grew slightly in size and depth between the two dates; an "X" marks the same rock in both photos for comparison. Left photo courtesy of Ron Chapelle, Quantum Spatial. USGS photo (right) by S. Conway.