Kilauea Volcano Continues to Erupt With Lava Spewing

Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Eruption Creates New Lava Lake : The Picture Show The volcano on Hawaii's Big Island began erupting more than a week ago and lava continues to flow, creating a huge new lake that's taken the place of a water lake it vaporized.

Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Eruption Creates 600-Foot-Deep Lava Lake

December 31, 2020 1:35 PM ET

Gas and steam erupt from the Halemaumau crater of the Kilauea volcano on Dec. 21 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Andrew Richard Hara/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Richard Hara/Getty Images

Gas and steam erupt from the Halemaumau crater of the Kilauea volcano on Dec. 21 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Andrew Richard Hara/Getty Images

On Hawaii's Big Island, Kilauea volcano erupted Dec. 20 for the first time in more than two years.

Lava spewed from a fissure in the northwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and cascaded into the deepest part of the crater, boiling away a water lake. There's now a growing lava lake, nearly 600 feet deep.

The U.S. Geological Survey has been documenting the eruption. Here, in photos and video, is how Kilauea's newest eruption is continuing — and changing the landscape.

At 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 20 an eruption began in the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, vaporizing the lake. This is what the lake looked like at 5:57 p.m. before the eruption. USGS hide caption

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USGS

At 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 20 an eruption began in the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, vaporizing the lake. This is what the lake looked like at 5:57 p.m. before the eruption.

USGS

Sunrise at the new eruption site in Kīlauea caldera on Dec. 21. USGS hide caption

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USGS

An aerial view of the Kilauea summit shows the eruption from a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Dec. 21. The two active fissure locations continue to feed lava into the growing lava lake. USGS hide caption

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USGS

As of about 8 a.m. on Dec. 23, crews note that the Kilauea summit lava lake depth is more than triple that of the water lake that existed in the crater until the evening of Dec. 20, when it was vaporized. H. Dietterich/USGS hide caption

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H. Dietterich/USGS

Fissures in the wall of Halemaʻumaʻu fed a lava lake that continued to fill the crater. After 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 24, the water lake had been replaced by a lava lake. USGS hide caption

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USGS

Fissures in the wall of Halemaʻumaʻu fed a lava lake that continued to fill the crater. After 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 24, the water lake had been replaced by a lava lake.

USGS

Several small channels continue to feed the lava lake within Halema'uma'u crater from the western fissure vents on Dec. 26. USGS hide caption

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USGS

Several small channels continue to feed the lava lake within Halema'uma'u crater from the western fissure vents on Dec. 26.

USGS

Crews observe the continuing eruption in Halema'uma'u at Kilauea in the early morning of Dec. 28. Overnight, the western vent in the wall of Halema'uma'u continued to erupt. D. Downs/USGS hide caption

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D. Downs/USGS

Crews observe the continuing eruption in Halema'uma'u at Kilauea in the early morning of Dec. 28. Overnight, the western vent in the wall of Halema'uma'u continued to erupt.

D. Downs/USGS