Images

HVO geologists make an initial assessment of the episode 33 lava fountain from the collapsed end of Crater Rim Drive, at the summit of Kīlauea. This portion of Crater Rim Drive was destroyed during the 2018 summit collapse events, and is closed to the public. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A lava bomb from the north vent above the crater rim that was found not long after it landed and cooled. As the molten bombs fly through the air, they cool and form a glassy crust with the interior full of vesicles. Most shatter into many pieces upon impact with the ground, but on rare occasions some stay mostly intact.

The episode 33 lava fountain from the north vent, at the summit of Kīlauea, is seen beyond the collapsed end of Crater Rim Drive. This portion of Crater Rim Drive was destroyed during the 2018 summit collapse events, and is closed to the public. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Activity at the Halema‘uma‘u summit eruption is increasing prior to episode 33. North vent is experiencing gas pistoning cycles (lava fills vent, overflows, drains). Lava flows from north vent are contained to a single dominant channel exiting the cone. North vent is approximately 20 m (65 feet) from base of the vent to the perched lava pond.

At 8:38 a.m. HST on September 17, the Halema‘uma‘u north vent overflowed for the first time in advance of Kīlauea summit eruptive episode 33.

Cyclic rising and falling of the lava pond at the Halema‘uma‘u north vent was indicative of ongoing gas pistoning during the morning of September 17. Seismometers have tracked this gas pistoning since shortly after the end of Kīlauea summit eruptive episode 32 on September 2, but only in the past couple days has lava risen high enough for the cycles to be visible.

This reference map depicts the volcanoes of the Manuʻa Islands, American Samoa, which are monitored by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

This reference map depicts the Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater that began on December 23, 2024. As of this posting on September 12, 2025, the eruption has had thirty-two episodes, with the most recent occurring on September 2.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist descends from the new tephra mound at Kīlauea summit that has been deposited over part of Crater Rim Drive (closed to the public) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The short wooden post in the bottom left is the top of a sign post for the road. A tephra collection bucket is situated here for tephra sampling.

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.

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 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.

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.