Images

At approximately 6:30 a.m. on July 9, the sunrise illuminated the walls of Kaluapele, as the north vent remained in the shadows of the caldera walls. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

Lava fountaining associated with episode 28 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 4:10 a.m. HST on July 9,  following several days of gas pistoning cycles, some of which produced small lava overflows at the north vent on July 8. USGS photo by L. Gallant. 

Episode 28 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began just after 4 a.m. HST on July 9, 2025. This photograph was taken from the north rim of the caldera around 6:30 a.m., as Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park visitors gathered to view the episode. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

This panoramic image, taken around 6:30 a.m. HST on July 9, 2025, shows episode 28 of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, within Kaluapele (the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano). This view, from the north rim of the caldera, shows that the ongoing eruption has been occurring in the southwest part of the caldera. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

After episode 28 ended, USGS geologists inspected the tephra deposit southwest of the eruptive vents, in the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The tephra continues to accumulate and build up a hill that is more than 80 ft (~25 m) high, covering parts of Crater Rim Drive.

In this view from an eruption monitoring helicopter overflight on Wednesday, July 9, new lava flows can be seen traveling across the Halema‘uma‘u crater floor—these appear as fluid forms with a shiny, silvery crust over incandescent red-hot lava. Older lava flows from previous eruptive episodes have a darker or duller appearance.

Following episode 27 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on June 29, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineers visited several sites southwest of Halemaʻumaʻu on July 1 to remove tephra that had accumulated on the solar panels and station infrastructure. USGS photos by M. Warren. 

The Ha‘akulamanu trail within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park passes through the Sulphur Banks area, where long-term degassing near Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) has altered the basalt to colorful minerals including yellow sulfur, white gypsum, and reddish-brown hematite. USGS photo by C. Sealing.

Since December 23, 2024, 30 episodes of lava fountaining have happened in summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano, in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. 

Visitors near the Keanakākoʻi Overlook in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park view lava fountaining during episode 27 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on June 29. Approximately 1.6 billion gallons (8.1 million cubic yards, 6.2 million cubic meters) of lava erupted during the sustained fountaining phase of episode 27.

Episode 27 lava fountains at the summit of Kīlauea occurred over about 11 hours on Sunday, June 29. In this view, the vibrant red lehua blossoms of the native ʻōhia tree frame the foreground, while the lava fountain from the north vent is visible in the background.  USGS photo by P. Dotray.

A koaʻe kea (white-tailed tropicbird) flies near the lava fountain during episode 27 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu. These birds are often visible in the vicinity of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera), as they nest in the walls of the caldera. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

From the south rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera), the growing tephra cone downwind of the ongoing eruption site in Halemaʻumaʻu is easily visible. On June 29, visitors gathered along the rim near Keanakākoʻi Overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to view lava fountaining associated with episode 27. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

Episode 27 of the Halema‘uma‘u Kīlauea summit eruption began around 9:05 a.m. HST on June 29, 2025. The north vent was active for majority of the eruption and reached approximately 1115 ft (~340 m) high by 11:00 am HST. The south vent became active with low level fountaining of about 65 ft (20 m) just before 4:00 p.m. HST. The fountains lasted just under 11 hours.

Strands of Pele's Hair collect in low-lying areas near Keanakākoʻi Overlook in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

The north and south vents have generated several lava fountains more than 1,000 ft (300 m) high during the past 26 episodes.

Lava was seen about 10-20 m (33-66 feet) below the rim of the north vent on June 27, 2025, during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Kīlauea summit monitoring helicopter overflight. The north vent was glowing over the past several nights and some minor spatter was visible overnight of June 26-27. USGS photo by R. Gale.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter monitoring overflight of the summit of Kīlauea provided aerial overview of the lava flows and tephra that have been emplaced over the 26 lava fountaining episodes since December 23, 2024. The very bottom of the photo shows the dark black lava flows that were erupted during the September 2023 eruption. USGS photo by D.

On June 26, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory conducted a UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) mission to monitor the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption and map its tephra deposits. Here, a geologist prepares for a flight from former Crater Rim Drive within the closed portion of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

These maps show lava flow and tephra accumulation at Kīlauea volcano associated with episodes 23 (left) and 24 (right) of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu that started on December 23, 2024, using data recorded by the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite constellation.

This animated GIF shows a timelapse sequence consisting of one image every several days between December 25, 2024, and June 20, 2025.  The photos were taken from the northern rim of the caldera, near Uēkahuna overlook and the view is south towards the ongoing eruption site in Halemaʻumaʻu.