Images

A view of the volcanic plume from the degassing north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea. Trade winds during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight on May 22, 2026, transported the plume to the southwest, into the Kaʻū Desert and closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

This view, from the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea, shows the north and south vents degassing with the slope of the tephra cone on the crater rim visible in the background. USGS photo by M. Cappos. 

An aerial view of the Kaoiki fault on the south flank of Mauna Loa. Grassy slopes mark this fault, with Mauna Loa lava flows in the foreground and the slope of Mauna Loa in the background. This fault is prominently visible while driving Highway 11 in the Kaʻū Desert area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

Left: Lava fountains on January 1, 1985, during episode 29 of the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption on the middle East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. Right: Lava fountains on January 24, 2026, during episode 41 of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption.

Comparison of the 1983–1986 Puʻuʻōʻō eruption lava fountain heights (top) with those of the 2024–ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption (bottom).

This telephoto view looking northwest shows the south vent (center), with the north vent (right) just out of view, in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. In the leadup to episode 47, the south vent had about 75 overflows, but only the north vent produced lava fountaining during episode 47. Both vents are degassing in the photo.

The area south of Halema‘uma‘u has many ground cracks, many associated with the 2018 Kīlauea summit collapse and others associated with more recent earthquakes and ground deformation. While tephra from the ongoing summit eruption has covered and obscured many ground cracks, the deposit itself in places has deep cracks.

This view is of the cone (pu‘u) that has formed in the predominant downwind direction (southwest) of the north and south vents during the ongoing eruption at Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo is east of the southwest corner of Halema‘uma‘u and is looking to the northwest.

Misty weather partially obscured views of episode 47 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 14, 2026. This photo was taken approximately 2 1/2 hours into the eruptive episode, which began at 3:27 p.m. HST. Only the north vent erupted a lava fountain, which fed channelized lava flows across the crater floor within Kaluapele. USGS photo by L. Forster.

The lava fountain erupting from the north vent during episode 47 on May 14, 2026, seen here, sent light tephra into public areas of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and surrounding communities to the northeast. Tephra is a general term for any fragmental material ejected during a volcanic eruption. USGS photo by L. Gallant. 

The north vent (right in photo) in Halemaʻumaʻu erupted a lava fountain during episode 47 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 14, 2026. It reached a maximum height of around 650 feet (200 meters). The south vent (left in photo) had intermittent spattering during the first two hours of the episode. USGS photo by L. Forster.

The lava fountain erupted by the north vent during episode 47 on May 14, 2026, reached about 650 feet (200 m) in height. It fed lava flows that covered portions of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera. USGS photo by L. Gallant. 

A close-up view of lava on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera, during episode 47 on May 14, 2026. These flows remain hot and may slowly move in the days immediately following an eruptive episode. USGS photo by L. Gallant. 

K2cam captured this view of the north vent lava fountain visible from Uēkahuna overlook in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park during eruptive episode 47 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 14, 2026. Visitors line the rock wall at the overlook to see the fountain from the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the distance. USGS webcam image. 

Episode 47 lava fountaining at Kīlauea summit began at approximately 3:27 p.m. HST Thursday, May 14, and continued for about 9 hours. Only the north vent produced high fountains with only sporadic spattering activity from the south vent. This photo taken around 5 p.m.

During episode 47 of the Kīlauea summit eruption that took place for 9 hours on Thursday May 14, the north vent fountains reached maximum heights of under 300 meters or 1,000 feet.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists monitor lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea during episode 47 on May 14. 2026. From various locations around Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, USGS scientists check for tephra fallout, document and characterize eruptive activity, and measure the lava fountain and volcanic plume heights.

Episode 47 of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu began at the summit of Kīlauea at 3:27 p.m. HST on May 14th, 2026. This photo was taken nearly three hours later, at 6:18 p.m., from the south rim of the crater, and shows the north vent lava fountain (left) feeding lava flows that are advancing across the crater floor. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Episode 47 of the ongoing eruption at Halema‘uma‘u started at on May 14 at 3:27 p.m. HST and lasted 9 hours. This photo was taken shortly after sunset at 6:55 p.m. HST. The incandescent north vent lava fountain and its associated lava flows are seen through the vegetation at Kīlauea's summit region. USGS photo by L. Forster.

B1cam captured this sunset view of the north vent lava fountain and lava flow during eruptive episode 47 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 14, 2026. USGS webcam image. 

KWcam captured this view of the north vent lava fountain and lava flow visible from the north rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater during eruptive episode 47 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 14, 2026.  USGS webcam image.