Kīlauea summit eruption fountains - September 12, 2023

During the afternoon of September 12, 2023, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight of the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera. The eruption is occurring on the downdropped block east of Halema‘uma‘u, which formed during the 2018 summit collapse. A safe location was identified to land on the downdropped block, from which this photo was taken using a telephoto lens. This view shows the north side of the easternmost fountains that were active at the time. The cooled lava in the foreground (bottom half of photo) erupted during the current eruption. USGS photo by N. Deligne.