USGS: “Several areas of active upwelling on the surface of Halema‘uma‘u, as seen from the south rim during an early morning observational shift on January 6, 2023. As the lava reaches the lake’s surface, it immediately begins to cool and radiates away from the source. This cooled lava forms thin plates made of lava crust, which grows and extends as it continues to be pushed away. When the thin plates radiating away from two sources meet, a line or ring of spattering will occur as they interact. This process is similar to what happens when two tectonic plates converge.”

USGS: “The extent of the active lava lake—the area in red is 218 acres (88 hectares); part of this area is comprised of the active lava lake footprint from the end of the 2021–22 eruption, which has filled with new lava that upwelled from below. The full extent of new lava from this eruption, totaling both the active lava lake (red) and flows that have crusted over (pink) is 277 acres (112 hectares). Although this eruption has expanded the footprint of post-2018 lava within Halema‘uma‘u crater, citizen scientists may note that this full extent value is smaller than that at the end of the 2021–22 eruption: 295 acres (119 hectares). This discrepancy exists because a higher-standing section of crater floor (yellow) around the former active lava lake has not yet been overflowed with new lava. The current laser rangefinder measurement places the new lava lake depth at 274 meters (899 feet), about 8 meters (26 feet) above the level of the cooled lava from the 2020-2022 summit eruption.”