View of north vent from the northwest, nearly 12 hours after the end of episode 15 of the eruption at Kīlauea's summit. Tephra covers the slopes of north vent, and the area to the north, giving the appearance of a surface covered in brown sand. At the time this photo was taken, only south vent vent (right) had any degassing of note, as evidence by white steam (mostly water vapor) rising. Oozeouts on the crater floor are visible in the middle left of the photo. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Photo of a tree partially buried and damaged by the tephra deposit produced by the high fountaining on March 26, 2025, during episode 15 of Kīlauea's summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u. Prior to episode 15, this was a healthy tree growing in a gully, about 130 meters (about 140 yards) west of the rim of Halema‘uma‘u. The tephra from the high fountaining filled in most of the gully, partially buried the tree, removed most of its leaves, broke smaller branches, and stripped the bark in some places. Field geologists smelled a charcoal odor, suggesting parts of the tree or nearby vegetation was smoldering, potentially ignited by from partially molten tephra from the high fountains landing in the area. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Lava fountain activity during episode 15 of the Halema‘uma‘u eruption at the summit of Kīlauea. Fountain heights reached up to about 1,000 feet (305 meters) during episode 15. USGS photo by C. Gansecki. 

Vigorous lava fountaining during episode 15 feeds lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.  USGS photo by C. Gansecki. 

Lava fountain activity during episode 15 of the Halema‘uma‘u eruption at the summit of Kīlauea. Fountain heights reached up to about 1,000 feet (305 meters) during episode 15. Vigorous lava fountaining feeds lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.  

Lava fountaining in the southwest portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater from episode 14 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on March 20, 2025. The south fountain was dominant around midday, and supplied lava into a long, narrow channel that fed into a circular perched lava pond.