Lava lake at Kilauea’s Halemaumau Crater now more than 550 feet deep

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - This week’s incredible eruption at Halemaumau Crater continues, feeding a lava lake that is now 554 feet deep — or about as tall as 1 1/2 vertical football fields.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials said the lava lake got 39 feet deeper in the last 24 hours.

The lake covers an approximate surface area of 69 acres.

The lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu as it appeared to scientists this Christmas Eve morning. As of 7:00 a.m., the lake has a depth of 554 ft (169 m)— an increase of 39 ft (12 m) in the last 24 hours.

Live webcams, courtesy of USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: https://t.co/Yf1Kc3AeJ9 pic.twitter.com/dGs23JkSic
— Hawaii Volcanoes NPS (@Volcanoes_NPS) December 24, 2020

The eruption at the crater started Sunday night, sending fountains of lava more than 160 feet into the air and quickly evaporating a water lake that had formed in the crater in the wake of the 2018 eruption.

That water lake took nearly two years to reach a depth of 167 feet.

[For a slider showing the crater with the water lake and what it looks like today, click here.]

There are two active fissures feeding the new lava lake. And while the volcanic activity has been characterized as “stable,” meaning it poses no immediate threat to communities, it is emitting a large amount of gas and creating vog that has been reported to be heavy in some areas.

What's the depth of the lava lake? If the @EmpireStateBldg had been built at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u crater, we estimate the lava lake level could already be as high as the 44th floor! Track the slow rise of lava on #USGS #HVO webpage, https://t.co/i3FBDAQkEx. #Kilauea2020 pic.twitter.com/YpkSg0Jogd
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) December 24, 2020