On Friday, February 18, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists visited the Halema‘uma‘u crater rim to observe the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. At the time of their visit, the lava lake in the western portion of the crater had drained substantially in association with deflation of the summit region. In this photo captured through the lens of a laser rangefinder device, the residual lava pond that has remained active through recent eruptive pauses is visible just above and left of center. The lava pond feeds a weak lava flow through a deeply-incised channel (center) to the main lava lake (lower-right), which is sitting at a very low level relative to the surrounding levees; the levees in this view stand approximately 10 meters (33 feet) tall. The west vent spatter cone is just out-of-view to the left of this image. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports lava flow within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has slowed to a near pause.
The level of the lava lake has dropped significantly, and the surface is currently about 50% crusted over.
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