Steamy western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater

On the sunny morning of December 3, at around 11 a.m. HST, the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater hissed with steam from large parts of the 19-meter-high (62 feet) cone after a rainfall earlier in the morning. Although the lava inside the cone was not visible, HVO field crews observed that lava continued to flow into the lava lake from the east side of the vent. A steam trail behind the vent also showed the trace of a crusted over lava flow that met the lake just south of the cone. USGS image by J. Schmith.