April 1, 2025 — Episode 15 lava fountains at Kīlauea's summit

On April 1, a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist captured this zoomed-in photo of the upper portion of the active lava fountain during Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption. Here, one can see the origin of tephra that has blanketed areas downwind of the eruptive vents during this eruption: while molten spatter (red) falls quickly back to earth, solid but frothy pieces of lava (black) loft higher in the plume, buoyed by hot gases escaping the eruptive vent. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.