Multimedia Gallery

A view of the south margin of the perched lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo was taken from the east rim of the crater, and shows the steep levee containing the lake. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

An HVO geologist surveys the lava lake from the eastern rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The cliff that covers most of the top half of the photo formed during the collapse events of 2018, and gives a sense of the scale of that event. USGS photo by M. Patrick on April 16, 2021.

A close-up view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i. Lava continues to enter the lava lake from a wide inlet near the base of the western vent (fuming at center right). Crustal foundering is common on the active lava lake surface (center bottom), located on the western side of the crater. This photograph was taken

A view of Colvin Creek during sunset Reston, Virginia

A close up view of the inlet at the western margin of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The lava stream was covered in a thin, flexible crust and was moving at a very slow velocity. USGS photo taken by M. Patrick on April 13, 2021.

This view from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u shows the perched lava lake, supplied by lava from the western fissure (upper right portion of photo). The levee surrounding the active lava lake is up to about 5 m (16 ft) high. USGS photo by M. Patrick on April 13, 2021.

On Friday afternoon, April 9, lava entered the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake from two sources near the base of the west vent (degassing on left side of the image). This photo was taken around 4:00 p.m. HST from the western rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. The lava source closer to the west vent emerged approximately one hour before this photo was taken. USGS Photo

On Friday, lava erupting from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater emerged from a source closer to the vents base (center), a few feet away from the submerged effusive inlet that has been feeding the lava lake for several weeks (lower right). This photo was taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, in an area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that remains closed to

Lava continues to erupt from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea Volcano's summit. This photo of the vent and active western portion of the lava lake was taken around 3:00 p.m. HST from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS photo taken by K. Lynn on April 9, 2021.

The crusted-over southern shoreline of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit has accumulated talus (rubble) blocks on the surface since it solidified in February. On April 8, 2021, HVO field geologists noted steaming east of the talus (above the rubble in the photo) that was producing hazy viewing conditions. USGS photo by C. Parcheta.

A zoomed in view of the active lava lake and western vent, taken from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea summit. The active lava lake remains perched a few meters (yards) higher than the surrounding solidified lava crust. A few small rafted islands (darker in color) are visible within the active western lava lake. The bluish-white gas plume marks the location

View of the Kīlauea summit lava lake from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater on April 7, 2021. Lava continues to erupt from the west vent, where a diffuse gas plume is visible in the lower left. The active west part of the lava lake (lower center) is a lighter gray color, compared to the darker appearance of the solidified surface crust to the east. This photo was taken

From Data to Maps

The National Geospatial Program - the Nation's source for topographic information 

By Michael Tischler

USGS, Director of the National Geospatial Program 

• Responsibilites of a national mapping agency
• National elevation data 
• National

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 225 m (738 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 742 m (2434 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020. Contour lines highlighted in green, purple, and blue mark

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, as seen in this view looking north. Active surface lava is limited to the western (left) portion of the lake between the main island and the western fissure complex. The blueish tinge to the plume from the western fissure complex (left) is due to sulfur dioxide (SO₂). USGS photo

Gainer Memorial Dam, Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island.

North side of the Gainer Memorial Dam, Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island.

A telephoto image from the ongoing eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava continues to enter the lava lake through an inlet near the base of the west vent cone (right). An incandescent opening near the top of the cone (upper center), ejected occasional bursts of spatter. Crustal foundering of a section of the lava lake surface crust (lower

A telephoto view of the eastern Halema‘uma‘u crater wall and portion of the crusted-over lava lake at Kīlauea summit. In this photo, molten lava from below the surface crust has squeezed up between the lava crust and the crater wall as an “ooze-out.” USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on April 2, 2021.

A wide view of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The western vent and perched lava lake remain active in the western portion of the crater (left). Sulfur dioxide emission rates remain elevated, with the most recent measurement being 1,200 tonnes per day on April 1. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on April 2, 2021.

Telephoto image of the western cone complex of the current eruption in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit. In the center, a horseshoe-shaped spatter rampart is partially filled in by a more recent spatter cone. The cone has an incandescent opening that spatter is occasionally erupted from. Behind the main cone (to the right in the image) is another spatter cone, darker in

The USGS Active Groundwater Level Network includes about 20,000 wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months. The animation shows snapshots of water-level statistics in the network during March 2021.

Refer to the 

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory's Rigaku Miniflex 600 (USGS laboratory equipment number WH-SED-Rigaku-Miniflex1).

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory's Beckman Coulter Multisizer 3 (USGS laboratory equipment number WH-SED-BeckmanCoulter-Multisizer1).

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory's Horiba LA-960 laser diffraction unit with slurry sampler (USGS laboratory equipment number WH-SED-Horiba-LA9601).

Photograph of cabinets in the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory contaning the lab's collection of sieves.

This March 31, 2021, photo shows a close-up view of the active western fissure of Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i. Near the bottom of the photo, orange incandescence can be seen from two circular vents of the spatter cones. The orange area above the vents is where lava is entering the lava lake, and the orange area in upper right side of the photo

Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the sixth video in a series of USGS whiteboard animations that highlight USGS careers. The concept is to show "what society (or my mom) thinks I do" compared with "what I really do." One image captures a more whimsical representation of a "scientist" and the second demonstrates a more accurate representation of what we really

Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America, in Relation to Tribal Lands in the Conterminous United States. Updated on April 01, 2021.

Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America, updated April 01, 2021

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center technicians programming remote field camera installations on Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore.

Photo of Chinle Creek, USGS

Photo Contest Winner | March 2021 | USGS at Work
GEMSC supply distribution day

Photo Contest Winner | March 2021 | People
USGS employees on boat

Photo Contest Winner | March 2021 | Honorable Mention
03363500 Flatrock River at St. Paul, IN; established 1930

Kent Smith Installing a crest stage gage (CSG) on the Genesee River. (Credit: John Wernly, USGS NY WSC Public domain.)

Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment to be deployed offshore of Sandwich, MA , March 2021

Visible and thermal maps of Brimstone Basin (top) and Midway / Lower Geyser Basins (bottom).  The images on the left are high-resolution (1-m pixels) visible images acquired by the NAIP program in 2019.  In these images, the extent of the bright white surface cover is visual evidence for the thermal area, and the yellow thermal area boundaries have been digitized based on

Map of Yellowstone’s thermal areas.  Thermally active thermal areas (known to have thermal features with above-background temperatures) are shown in red.  Inactive and cold, degassing thermal areas are shown in blue.  Areas that are unknown or inconclusive in terms of their thermal activity are shown in purple.

The western fissure remains active, supplying lava to the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo shows a close-up of the inlet where lava enters the lake. The motion of the lava stream has been slow but continuous. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photo shows Halema‘uma‘u Crater from the western caldera rim, looking east. Active surface lava is limited to the western portion of the lake, and can be seen as the silvery surface just below the center of the image. The eastern portion of the lake is solidified at the surface, and is visible just above the center. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photo was taken from the western caldera rim, and looks down up on the western fissure supplying lava into the lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Incandescence is visible in a small vent opening in the lower left portion of the image. In the upper right, the lava stream at the lake inlet slowly flows eastward. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photo shows a close-up of the inlet where lava enters the lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. A lava crust forms around the source of the lava stream, and occasionally fractures and is carried away by the current. Here, this sequence is beginning with a crack developing in the crust. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active. The active surface lava lake, shown in this photo, is limited to the western portion of the lake between the western fissure complex (center left) and the main island (right). In this view looking to the northwest, the main effusion source of lava into the lake is visible as a saw-tooth line at

The lava lake remains active in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The surface area of the active lava lake has slowly decreased over the past several months, with the active surface lava now limited to a portion of the west side of lake. The lake remains perched several meters (yards) above its surroundings, bound by a steep levee on most sides. USGS photo by

A close up of the inlet where lava from the western fissure feeds into the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. The lava stream was sluggish, with the movement barely perceptible with the naked eye. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 224 m (735 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 741 m (2431 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020. Contour lines highlighted in green, purple, and blue mark