Images

South of the active vents at Kīlauea summit, sections of Crater Rim Drive (closed to the public) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are covered in thinner deposits of tephra. The main axis of deposition of tephra was to the west of the vents, where the tephra has formed a mound over 20 meters (yards) deep over the road. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the caldera rim at Kīlauea summit to assess the aftermath of episode 32 lava fountaining. The vent was quiet, with no audible sounds, and a thick outgassing plume rose from the vents. The broad lava channel that was fed from episode 32 lava fountaining can be seen here extending to the left side of the image.

This photo, taken from a boat, shows Olosega Island on the left, and Ofu Island further away on the right, in the Manuʻs Islands of American Samoa. These islands, connected by a one-lane bridge (out of sight), are the top of Ofu-Olosega volcano. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Broadband seismometer site on eastern Taʻū, American Samoa, before (inset) and after a work party cleared rapidly growing vegetation which had covered the solar panels along with the boulders to the right of the main photo. Due to lack of power from the solar panels being unable to charge during the day, the station was offline for many months.

This view is taken from the flank of the new tephra mound at Kīlauea summit, over Crater Rim Drive (closed to the public) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The tire tracks of the vehicle mark the path of Crater Rim Drive.

This photo shows part of the western Ofu coastline and several small islands west of Ofu Island, American Samoa. These islands are considered part of Ofu-Olosega volcano in the Manuʻa Islands.

This view is from the south rim of the summit caldera on Kīlauea and shows the vent complex formed during the ongoing eruption. The vent area consists of overlapping lobes of spatter-fed flows, layers of tephra, and thin fluid lava flows.

Photo of the USGS Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring station on western Ta‘ū Island in the Manuʻa Islands of American Samoa. The station consists of a GPS unit, which can measure very slight movements of the ground, placed on a tripod that is leveled and centered over a benchmark.

The tire tracks in this photo trace the path of Crater Rim Drive (closed to the public) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This part of the road is covered by more than a meter (yard) of tephra erupted since December 23, 2024. Just south of this photo, a large mound of tephra accumulated during the ongoing eruption has buried the road over 20 meters (yards) deep.

Tephra is the material erupted that travels through the air before falling on the ground. During the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea, tephra from each episode of lava fountaining tells us about the magma storage conditions leading to the eruption.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and NOAA National Weather Service Weather Service Office Pago Pago meteorologists travelled by boat between the Manuʻa Islands, American Samoa, during an outreach and monitoring network maintenance trip in early September 2025. This view is from the boat looking south towards the north side of Ofu Island.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists took this photo of Aunu‘u Island while on a flight from Tutuila to Ofu Island in American Samoa on September 2, 2025. The view is from the south looking north. Aunu‘u Island is a tuff cone less than 1 mile southeast of Tutuila Island and is considered part of Tutuila volcano.

From the north rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists document eruptive activity during episode 32 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

This image was taken by the S2cam during episode 32 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, on September 2, 2025. The S2cam is a temporary webcamera positioned on the south rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauae summit caldera) and the view is to the west. USGS webcam image. 

This image was taken by the S2cam during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, and it has been cropped from the original version. The S2cam is a temporary webcamera positioned on the south rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauae summit caldera) and the view is to the west. USGS webcam image.  USGS photo. 

From the Kīlauea Overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists documented episode 32 of the Kīlauea summit eruption that began on December 23, 2025.

Aerial view of the episode 32 lava fountain within Halema‘uma‘u during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring helicopter overflight at approximately 1:00 pm on September 2, 2025. Three vents were erupting from the western side of Halemaʻumaʻu, and feeding lava flows into the western side of the crater.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted an overflight of Kīlauea summit to conduct an aerial photo survey and collect lava samples of the current episode. This photo shows the helicopter passing in front of the outgassing plume on its way into the caldera. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Lava fountaining from the north vent during episode 32 of Kīlauea's summit eruption fed a wide channel on Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor. USGS photo by N. Kohagura.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists documented episode 32 of Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption from the Kīlauea Overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. There, tephra from the lava fountain was visibly lofted high into the air by buoyant degassing during the eruption. USGS photo by C. Cauley. 

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted an aerial overflight during episode 32 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. This view, taken at approximately 12:45 p.m. HST on September 2, 2025, shows three vents erupting from the western side of Halemaʻumaʻu, with lava flows reaching close to the eastern side of the crater floor. USGS photo by D.