Images

From the eruption-viewing area near Keanakāko‘i crater, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey helicopter and hoop were visible within Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. This survey, which is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on July 22, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor. An adjacent pond (purple) is feeding lava to a larger lake (red) via a crusted-over tube. The eruption statistics provided here are current as of the last HVO overflight on July 19, 2022.

HVO geologist Frank Trusdell collects a sample of lava from the fissure 8 channel during Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone eruption in July 2018 (A. Hara). Inset photo shows Trusdell presenting an update on Mauna Loa for a West Hawaii Community Forum in February 2018 (Laura Ruminski/West Hawaii Today).  

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists captured this view of the caldera at Kīlauea summit during an overflight the morning of July 19, 2022.

During a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight on July 19, 2022, lava was oozing out the northern edge of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. Incandescent lava is visible in this area, near the bottom center of this image, where lava is slowly encroaching on the large down-dropped block that formed during the 2018 caldera collapse.

A closer view of active lava on the north margin of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. This small pad of lava oozed out from the crater floor along the north boundary of the crater, near where the down-dropped block to the east slopes down towards Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS image by K. Mulliken. 

An aerial image of the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lava lake within the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater is visible in approximately the center of the image, and lava spattering is visible along the eastern edge of the lake.

Aerial view of the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea, taken during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geology monitoring overflight on July 19, 2022.

Telephoto aerial image of a hornito on the surface of the eastern part of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor at the summit of Kīlauea. In the foreground, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring equipment on the eastern rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater gives a sense of scale. Several hornitos, each several tens of feet tall, rise from the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Aerial view looking west across the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Kīlauea summit geology overflight on July 19, 2022.

Aerial view of the north wall of Kīlauea caldera. The bright green area near the center of the image is the Volcano Golf Course. Between it and the caldera edge is the Kīlauea Military Camp. Mauna Kea rises beyond the slopes of the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa in the background. USGS image by J. Chang. 

A helicopter overflight on July 19, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A helicopter overflight on July 19, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

Aerial photo showing the location of the building that formerly housed the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Photo taken on July 19, 2022, after eruptions had partially filled in the collapsed area. USGS photos.

Image of the cover of "Report of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association."

A photo of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit, taken on July 13 from the western rim of the crater. SO₂ gas emissions remain elevated and were measured at about 1250 tonnes per day on July 14. Volcanic gases, and steam from rain on the crater floor, often obscured visibility with only intermittent views of the crater floor and active lava lake.

A telephoto image of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken on July 13. During the current deflationary tilt phase of a deflation-inflation event, the active lava lake level is about 9 m (30 ft) below the lake rim. The west vent cone (lower right) is about 24 m (79 ft) tall, with a few areas that were weakly incandescent.

A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist uses a laser rangefinder to measure the distance to different areas of interest around the crater. These measurements help us to track changes in the lava lake and crater floor, and to measure features such as the lava lake and west vent cone. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on July 13, 2022.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on July 12, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor. An adjacent pond (purple) is feeding lava to a larger lake (red) via a crusted-over tube. The eruption statistics provided here are current as of the last HVO overflight on July 7, 2022.

From the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, USGS scientists make observations of the eruption at Kīlauea summit. The western edge of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor is visible in the lower right part of the image, as is a section of Crater Rim Drive that collapsed in 2018. Mauna Loa is prominent in the background of the photo. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

A telephoto view of the island that formed during the December 20, 2020, eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The island has been slowly shrinking as lava flows encroach around and onto it. In the background, the line of steam marks where the rising floor of Halema‘uma‘u is lapping on to the down-dropped block to the northeast.