Images

A helicopter overflight on March 17, 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.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on March 21, 2022. One eruptive vent is intermittently active within Halema‘uma‘u, in the western end of the crater. When this vent is effusing lava, it pours into a lava lake, colored red on this map.

A small bridge of lava 3 meters (10 feet) in height is left behind during a lull in activity within Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea's summit. The repeated ebb and flow of lava into the active lake surface has caused the pond behind this feature to start pinching off from the main part of the active lake that fills with lava when activity is more vigorous.

This 8 meter (26 feet) tall arch of lava was left behind during a lull in eruptive activity within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea's summit. This feature is located in the spillway that connects the vent of Halema‘uma‘u to the lava lake.

A view of Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea summit, looking east, on the morning of March 11. The active lava lake is silvery gray and is visible in the lower right. The remnants of the west vent cone area are visible to the west (bottom right) of the active lava lake, and are the source of the majority of bluish-white volcanic gas emissions. USGS image by N. Deligne.

Telephoto view looking east of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea on March 11, 2022. The craggy remains of the west vent cone, which has broken down over the past few weeks, are visible through the volcanic gas plume in the lower right.

Telephoto view, looking east, of the lava source area for the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea on March 11. The is supplied from the embayment which is just north (left) of the remnants of west cone area (center and right).

This animated gif features one V1cam image, taken around noon each day, from February 1, 2022, through March 4, 2022.

Bursts of lava erupting from a vent in the western half of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea volcano summit, were reaching 15-20 meters (50-65 feet) from the top of the cone on March 4, 2022. A small channel of sluggish lava was flowing down the western side of this cone.

Kīlauea's summit eruption continues within Halema‘uma‘u crater. A number of vents are located in the western half of the crater, where the west vent cone used to be. On March 4, 2022, the highest of these features was measured at 19 meters (60 feet) in height and is shown in this photograph. USGS photo by L. Gallant.

The ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit, is occurring from a number of vents in a complex located in the western half of the crater. The tallest cone in this complex measures about 19 meters (60 feet) in height and is shown in this photograph. USGS photo by L. Gallant.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on March 4, 2022. One eruptive vent is intermittently active within Halema‘uma‘u, in the western end of the crater. When this vent is effusing lava, it pours into a lava lake, colored red on this map.

At approximately 8:15 a.m. on March 2, 2022, HVO geologists conducted an overflight of Kīlauea's summit. The eruption, which resumed several hours earlier, at approximately 1 a.m., continues within Halema‘uma‘u crater. In this photo, active lava is visible near the west vent, near the center of the image, and Mauna Loa looms in the background. USGS image by F.

Aerial view of Halema‘uma‘u crater and the ongoing eruption within it. This view, to the northeast, shows one of several down-dropped blocks that formed during Kīlauea's summit collapse events in 2018.

This aerial photo, taken south of Halema‘uma‘u crater, shows the active part of the eruption at Kīlauea summit during a routine Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight on March 2, 2022.

This telephoto view, taken during a eruption monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on March 2, 2022, shows the west vent area within Halema‘uma‘u crater. Lava erupts from multiple locations near where the west vent cone, which has broken down over the past several weeks, was located.

A helicopter overflight on March 2, 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 March 2, 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.

Summit tiltmeter data (green) shown against lava lake level (blue).  The top panel is for the time period 12/1/2017–1/30/2018 and is representative of the “old” lava lake.  For this panel, lake level was retrieved from thermal camera images, hence it is given in units of “pixels.”  The bottom panel is from 1/15/2022–2/15/2022; in this case, the lake l

Telephoto view of the distal (east) margin of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Minor spattering is visible along the margin, as well as two zones of crustal foundering (a process in which more cool and dense crust at the surface sinks into the molten material below). USGS image by K. Mulliken.

Telephoto view of the distal (east) margin of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Minor spattering is visible along the margin, as well as a zone of crustal foundering (a process in which more cool and dense crust at the surface sinks into the molten material below). USGS image by K. Mulliken.