Images

Episode 55 lava fountaining started within Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea during the early morning hours of October 17, 2026. The weather was clear providing good views of the lava fountaining and gas and tephra plume. This photo was taken at about 5:50 a.m. HST with the lava fountain at nearly 600 ft (180 m) tall. USGS photo by D. Downs.

Episode 55 lava fountaining within Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea on the morning of October 17, 2026. The sun illuminated the volcanic plume in such a way as to light it up with pink and yellow hues. USGS photo by D. Downs.

The eruptive plume at the summit of Kīlauea rising over the episode 55 fountains at dawn, reaching about 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) above sea level. The fountain from the north vent reached a maximum height of just over 700 feet (220 m) by 5:00 a.m. HST, an hour before this photograph was taken. USGS photo by L. Gallant.

The B1cam, located on the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of  Kīlauea, captured this image of the episode 55 lava fountain on October 17, 2026. USGS webcam image. 

The K2cam, located on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea, captured this image of the episode 55 lava fountain aon October 17, 2026. USGS webcam image. 

The V1 livestreaming camera, located on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of  Kīlauea, captured this image of the episode 55 lava fountain on October 17, 2026. USGS webcam image. 

The V3 livestreaming camera, located on the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of  Kīlauea, captured this image of the episode 55 lava fountain on October 17, 2026. USGS webcam image. 

The KWcam, located on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea, captured this image of the episode 55 lava fountain on October 17, 2026. USGS webcam image. 

Photo compilation of lava fountaining episodes 1–55 at the summit of Kīlauea, including webcam imagery and photos taken by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists on the ground and during helicopter overflights. In all photos except for episode 7, the south vent is on the left and the north vent is on the right.

A) COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) interferogram showing deformation (or lack of it) of the ground surface around the summit of Kīlauea volcano from September 11–27, 2026. The symbol in the upper-left corner shows the satellite’s flight direction with an arrow and its viewing direction with a bar.

Photo compilation of lava fountaining episodes 1–54 at the summit of Kīlauea, including webcam imagery and photos taken by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists on the ground and during helicopter overflights. In all photos except for episode 7, the south vent is on the left and the north vent is on the right.

The vent complex in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea that has been erupting episodically since December 2024 often features flames visibly emanating from the vents at night. These flames are thought to be the result of burning hydrogen gas, with the vent geometry being an important factor to allow the hydrogen gas to be efficiently ignited.

The vent complex in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea that has been erupting episodically since December 2024 often features flames visibly emanating from the vents at night. These flames are thought to be the result of burning hydrogen gas. The temperature at which hydrogen ignites in air depends on its concentration.

All Hawaii residents are encouraged to participate in the Great Hawaii ShakeOut earthquake drill at 10:15 a.m. on October 15, 2026.

COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) interferogram showing deformation of the ground surface around the summit of Kīlauea volcano from September 24 to October 2, 2026. Blue circles mark earthquakes recorded during this period, with larger circles representing stronger earthquakes. Most of the earthquakes occurred between September 30 and October 1, 2026.

Some of the new cracks that formed on Kīlauea caldera floor between September 30-October 1 were steaming and warm (about 60 dg Celsius, or 140 dg Fahrenheit) when they were measured by this thermal camera on October 6.

Telephoto view of the northern part of Kīlauea's upper caldera floor the Uēkahuna overlook. While some of the ground cracking in this area occurred during the 2018 caldera collapse, there is evidence of new ground cracking associated with the dike intrusion that occurred during the night of September 30 to October 1.

Photograph from the Uēkahuna overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park looking at the northern part of Kīlauea's upper caldera floor. This is the area where increased seismicity and ground deformation occurred during the night of September 30 to October 1.

A comparison of a thermal image and visual image of the new cracking in the north caldera at Kīlauea summit. The bands of higher ground temperatures extend to the left of the crack because the warm steam is carried southwest by the tradewinds. The temperature scale is in Celsius, with maximum observed temperatures in these cracks of about 60 dg C, or 140 dg F.

The largest new crack observed on the northern part of Kīlauea caldera floor during a field visit on October 6, 2026, was measured at 15 cm (6 inches) wide. The sharp edge of the tephra deposit above the crack, as well as delicate suspended roots that were pulled apart in the crack, help indicate that this is a new crack and not an older, existing one.

Another view of the new ground cracks in the north part of Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, cutting through the recent tephra deposits on the caldera floor. New cracks were up to about 6 inches (15 cm) wide. The active vents of the ongoing eruption are visible in the upper right portion of the photo. USGS photo by M. Patrick.