Images

A view of roiling lava within the eruptive vent in the southwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu crater on Wednesday, July 14, 2023, partially obscured by thick volcanic fume. This vent is currently the only active eruptive vent at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This reference map depicts the Kīlauea summit eruption on June 14, 2023. The provided eruption statistics are derived from helicopter overflight data collected on Monday, June 12, but map features have been updated based on Wednesday, June 14 webcam views.

On June 12, 2023, HVO scientists conducted an overflight of the eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. This aerial photo shows the darker parts of the crater floor, most which have been covered with new lava since the eruption began on June 7.

Eruptive activity at the summit of Kīlauea has localized to the southwest corner of Halema‘uma‘u crater in recent days. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists had this view of the primary eruptive vent on Monday, June 12, from the western crater rim, looking to the southeast.

During a Kīlauea summit eruption field observation shift on June 12, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists noted that lava was not flowing down the surface of the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater wall, though the vent was still fuming. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

From the southwest part of Halema‘uma‘u crater rim, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists were able to view into vent perched on the western wall. On June 12, they observed that lava was still spattering inside the vent, but rarely making it out of the top. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

In this telephoto view of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater, lava flows from right to left from an outlet in lower right side of photo. As lava flows, the outlet slowly grows a soft crust of dark lava fingers. USGS photo by J. Schmith on June 12, 2023.

The island, which was created in the very first hours of the 2020 Halema‘uma‘u lava lake eruption, is still visible. Fresh lava from the opening of the 2023 eruption has risen high around the edges and covered part of the surface. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists wonder how much longer this feature will survive. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

The lava on the surface of Halema‘uma‘u crater is hot and fluid even though it quickly grows a dark crust. When the crust forms, it becomes denser than the fluid lava below and starts to sink into it. The fluid red lava below forms thin lobes above the sinking crust. We call this process crustal foundering—an overturn of the crust.

Crustal foundering in Halema‘uma‘u crater forms a beautiful color pattern of crustal plates separated by cracks. The darker colors along the cracks are newly cooled thin lobes of lava. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

A close-up of the glowing vent on Halema‘uma‘u lava lake surface shows that it is built from clots of spatter that have welded together. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists captured this telephoto view of the spattering surface on the southern side of the crater during an eruption monitoring shift on June 12. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

This compilation shows thermal maps of the initial days of the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The high initial eruption rates in the opening day of the eruption supplied numerous lava fountains that covered the entire crater floor with new lava.

A helicopter overflight on June 12, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruptive activity has consisted of lava fountaining and lava lake activity, confined within the crater. The area of active lava has diminished in recent days.

A helicopter overflight on June 12, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruptive activity has consisted of lava fountaining and lava lake activity, confined within the crater. The area of active lava has diminished in recent days.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists use an FTIR to measure volcanic gas at the Halemaʻumaʻu crater eruption site. The FTIR is aimed at the hot, glowing lava and the volcanic gas between the lava and the FTIR can be measured.

On the afternoon of June 9, 2023, the fissure on the southwest wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater was still active and had formed a spatter cone. The vent was feeding lava flows down into the still active Halema‘uma‘u lava lake below. USGS photo by K. Lynn.

Low fountaining has been active where lava upwells into Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This video shows a series of small fountains in the southern portion of the crater floor. Camera shake is due to high winds at the time.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's B1cam was located on the east rim of the downdropped block within Kīlauea’s summit caldera, overlooking Halema‘uma‘u crater to the west. The eruption that began within Halema‘uma‘u crater the early morning of June 7, 2023, flooded the crater floor with lava and the B1cam was exposed to intense heat.

A telephoto view looking down on the fissure vent in the talus pile in the southwest corner of Halema‘uma‘u crater, taken from the western crater rim. Over the past 24 hours, this fissure vent has built up a spatter cone and spatter ramparts around its lava flow that cascades down to the crater floor.

View from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, showing the new lava flows that have covered the crater floor since the morning of June 7, 2023. This photograph, taken the morning of June 8, 2023, shows several active fissure vents that are feeding lava flows that cover the floor of the crater.