November 24, 2025 — The growing puʻu on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u

This aerial view looking to the southeast shows the volcanic gas plume being emitted from the vents of the ongoing Halema‘uma‘u eruption at Kīlauea summit. The eruption, which began on December 23, 2024, has blanketed the western rim of the caldera with tephra and is building a large tephra hill on the rim directly downwind of the eruptive vents (center right of photo). Tire tracks in the tephra deposit follow the path of the buried road which USGS scientists continue to use to access important volcano monitoring sites. This road is within a closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that is accessed by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory with permission from the park service. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on November 24, 2025.