Images

On the afternoon of December 27, 2021, the summit eruption of Kīlauea was paused and showed only intermittent and weak crustal foundering in the formerly active west side of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u. This photo, looking down and toward the east, shows the topography of the formerly active pond of lava during the eruption pause.

View of the west vent in Halemaʻumaʻu and the lava lake, from the northwest rim of the caldera, looking east [V1cam]. Image taken December 23, 2021.

Activity was very low during the helicopter overflight of Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit, on the morning of December 21. This view shows the west vent (near center) and the western part of the lava lake, where only a tiny portion of the surface was weakly active. The lava lake, which is in a state of pause, now has exposed walls due to a drop in the surface.

An aerial view of the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit, during the December 21 helicopter overflight. Eruptive activity is paused, and only a weak gas plume was being emitted from the west vent (center right). Just north of (below) the west vent, a tiny pad of lava remained weakly active within the lake. USGS photo taken by D. Downs.

The lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit, has slowly continued to rise over the past month. As the lake level rises, lava has flowed onto the lowest part of the lowest down-dropped block (right) from the 2018 Kīlauea summit collapse.

A small amount of lava spatter was thrown from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit, on December 20, 2021. Lava continued to flow into the lake from a source north (left) of the main vent cone. Multiple sources of degassing can be seen on and around the vent cone. USGS photo by B. Carr.

A small amount of lava spatter was thrown from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit, on December 20, 2021. Lava continued to flow into the lake from a source north (left) of the main vent cone. Multiple sources of degassing can be seen on and around the vent cone. USGS photo by B. Carr.

This photo from Friday, December 17, shows that the west vent remains active in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. A steep cone has been built over the vent, with lava supplied to the perched lava lake from the base of the cone. USGS photo by E. Gallant.

A close-up view of the steep cone recently built over the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Spatter was occasionally thrown over the rim onto the flanks of the cone. USGS photo taken by E. Gallant on December 17, 2021.

A close-up view of an overflow on the levee of the perched lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo taken by E. Gallant on December 17, 2021.

Lava erupting from the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. Frequent large spatter bursts were observed at the west vent during a period of increased eruptive activity that lasted for a few hours on the evening of December 15, 2021. This photo was taken from the public viewpoint near Keanakāko‘i crater in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues to feed a rising lava lake. During the evening of December 15, 2021 a period of increased eruptive activity included lava entering the lake from multiple sources and frequent large spatter bursts throwing lava onto the sides of the west vent cone.

A view of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, on Monday, December 13, 2021. Very little eruptive activity had been observed during the previous day at the summit. Over the past week, the lake level has continued to rise and covered more of the lowest down-dropped block (center left).

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.

The eruption in Halema'uma'u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues.

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on December 10, 2021. In this photo, spatter is seen above a perched pond at the top of the cone. The volcanic plume originating at the cone is mostly white in color with a blue tinge, indicative of water vapor and sulfur dioxide, respectively. USGS image by N.

View of the active western half of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at the Kīlauea summit. The main island that serves as a boundary between the active (west) and inactive (east) parts of the lake is the brown area in the middle right side of this photo.

Sunset on the evening of December 8, 2021, provided stunning views of the eruption in Halema'uma'u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photograph, taken from the Keanakākoʻi overlook within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, looks northwest from the south rim of Kīlauea caldera.

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on December 7, 2021, through the lens of a laser rangefinder.

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.

Red hot lava overturns the crust of the western end of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. These overturns are often seen along the edge of the lake by the 1-meter-high (3 ft) rim surrounding the active surface area. USGS image by J. Schmith.