Western lava lake—Halema‘uma‘u

A view of the western part of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava effusion from the west vent (lower left) had significantly decreased during the time of this photo. The western part of the lava lake surface was crusted over and had developed a noticeable topography, with islands perched within the lava lake. This photo was taken at 12:56 p.m. HST on December 13, 2021, from the western crater rim. USGS photo by J. M. Chang.