June 27, 2026 — Episode 50 lava fountain top

During the afternoon of June 27, 2026, several USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists ventured into the area northwest of Halema‘uma‘u crater in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park to collect tephra samples from Kīlauea summit eruption episode 50. They did so several hours into the episode after observing the north vent lava fountain begin to decline, a sign that it would be safe to approach the tephra deposit from earlier in the episode. While in this area, one of the scientists snapped this photo of the lava fountain peak visible over the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.