Kīlauea summit eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu crater - October 3, 2021

On Sunday, October 3, 2021, the late afternoon sunlight illuminated a perched edge of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. This view, looking to the northeast from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, shows the active lake surface (left) that is elevated a few meters (yards) above the lower trough along the crater wall (right). Overflows of the levee—such as the one seen in the top center of this photo—fill in sections of the trough with lava and shallow the elevation difference from the active lake surface until the levee begins to build again. USGS photo taken by K. Lynn.