Images

The telemetry network was upgraded yesterday, August 12, 2025, on Mauna Loa to accommodate new webcams around the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.  Here, an HVO field engineer installs a new antenna that will allow for more efficient transfer of volcano monitoring datasets from remote stations back to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineer updates the infrastructure at a remote station in the summit region of Mauna Loa. At this location, two webcams (MOcam and SPcam) were upgraded and a new thermal webcam, the MSTcam, was installed on Mauna Loa summit.  USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The MOcam webcam is situated in the south end of Mokuʻāweoweo, Mauna Loa's summit caldera, and it looks north to monitor the southern portion of the caldera floor.  Nearby, the SPcam is pointed south to monitor the uppermost Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

An ahu (cairn) marks the south end of Mokuʻāweoweo, the caldera at the summit of Mauna Loa.  This photo shows the cone that formed during the Mauna Loa summit eruption in 1949, in the upper right.

An aerial view of Kīlauea Iki and Pu‘u Pua‘i taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Obsrvatory monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on August 8.

An aerial image taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight, following the end of episode 30 on August 6.

This aerial image, taken during a Kīlauea summit overflight on August 8, 2025, looks southwest towards the ocean. In the foreground, two small lava flows that were erupted from Kīlauea in 1982 and 1971 are visible. The darker one on the left is from September 1971, while the shiny grey one on the right is from September 1982.

Early in the morning on August 6, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the western rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater to observe Kīlauea summit eruption episode 30. Lava fountains were reaching about 70 meters (230 feet) above the north vent at the time. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

A view of the episode 30 lava fountaining in the north vent, taken from the west rim of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera. The fountaining was sending out several lava channels across the crater floor, with lava flows reaching the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS photo taken by M. Patrick on August 6, 2025.

The August 6 thermal map shows the widespread channelized lava flows covering the crater floor, originating from the episode 30 lava fountaining in the western end of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Most of the lava originated from the vigorous fountaining at the north vent, with the weak fountaining at the south vent contributing a smaller volume.

Photo compilation of episodes 1–30 of the ongoing eruption 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 USGS geologist collects a molten sample of the episode 30 lava flows, quenching the sample in a bucket of water. The chemistry of these lava samples is analyzed to better understand the source and storage of magma driving Hawaiian eruptions. USGS photo by M. Patrick taken on August 6, 2025.

A helicopter overflight on the morning of August 6, during episode 30 of the ongoing Halema‘uma‘u eruption, provided aerial views of the lava fountaining and numerous channelized lava flows covering the crater floor. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

An aerial photograph of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater taken during an overflight on August 6, 2025. This photo, looking to the west, shows episode 30 lava fountains and lava flows covering the crater floor.

Slack winds allowed the outgassing plume from the episode 30 lava fountaining to rise vertically above Kīlauea summit caldera, making it easily visible from Highway 11. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

On the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu, new sink holes in ash and tephra that blankets the ground in this area were observed following episode 30 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on August 6. The sinkholes formed due to underlying cracks that opened as a result of the new fissure in the south wall of the caldera. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

Kīlauea has had 30 episodes of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, within the summit caldera, since December 23, 2024. This infographic summarizes the past 30 episodes of activity, providing context for this episodic eruption and summarizing the relevant hazards. USGS graphic. 

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists watched a spectacular sunrise over Kīlauea summit eruption episode 30 on the morning of August 6. Lava flows had covered about 60% of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor by that time. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

A telephoto aerial view of the episode 30 lava fountaining at Kīlauea summit, taken during a morning helicopter overflight. The dominant fountain was in the north vent, while a smaller fountain was active in the south vent. Channelized streams of lava, fed by the fountains in the north and south vents, flow to the eastern portion of the crater floor.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's helicopter overflight on August 5 provided aerial views of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) and the outgassing plume from the eruptive vents in Halema‘uma‘u crater. Mauna Loa can be seen in the background. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This wide-angle view of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) was captured during the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's helicopter overflight on August 5, showing the eastern caldera floor (near) along with more recent lava flows (far, darker circular zone) covering the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater.