Images

On Friday, August 21, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) organized a helicopter lidar mission over flood-damaged areas in the Ka‘ū district on the Island of Hawai‘i following Hurricane Lala the previous weekend.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientist mounts the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) instrument on the base of the helicopter.

Flooding in the Ka‘ū district during Hurricane Lala over the weekend of August 15–16 appears to have activated hydrologic drainages that only carry water during the heaviest of rains.

A photo of an FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectrometer) instrument that a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist uses to measure the chemical composition of volcanic gas during the start of eruptive episode 53 at the summit of Kīlauea. The ongoing episodic summit eruption, within Halema‘uma‘u, began on December 23, 2024. USGS photo taken by M.

As the sun set on August 12, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists had excellent views of Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 lava fountaining in the clear weather. The fountain shape changed rapidly, often shutting off the spatter-fed flow on the north side of the vent (right side of photo). USGS photo by M. Patrick.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu capture video and make observations of the fountain behavior during Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 on August 12, 2026. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This wide-angle, panoramic photo from the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu shows the outgassing plume from Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 lofting vertically and then drifting west—towards the summit of Mauna Loa—on August 12, 2026. The sun was setting behind the plume, creating an orange tint in the early evening. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This panoramic photo from the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu on August 12 shows Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 lava fountaining and the spatter-fed flow running along the northern perimeter of the crater floor (bottom of photo). The V1cam and KWcam site is visible at the left edge of the photo. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The spatter-fed flow on the north side of the vent was intermittent during Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 lava fountaining on August 12, 2026. Changes in the shape of the fountain and spatter fallout zone often restarted the flow down the steep slopes of the vent cone. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A closer look at the spatter fallout zone during Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 lava fountaining on August 12, 2026. This was the source of the spatter-fed flow directed towards the northern portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Lava fountaining episode 53 of the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea began at 3:45 p.m. HST on August 12, 2026. This photo of the fan shaped lava fountain was taken from the Uēkahuna overlook in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, around 5:00 p.m. HST when the lava fountains were approximately 500 ft (150 m) high. USGS photo taken by M. Cappos.

Episode 53 of the ongoing episodic Kīlauea summit eruption started on August 12 at 3:45 p.m. HST. The episode 53 lava fountain erupting from the north vent reached heights of approximately 500 ft (150 m) with the gas plume reaching 18,000 ft (5600 m) above sea level.

A wide view of the Uēkahuna overlook in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, during episode 53 lava fountains of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. The volcanic gas plume rises from the lava fountains as visitors watch the eruption. The ground surface is blanketed in tephra (volcanic rock particles) that were deposited during earlier episodes of this eruption.

Crowds of visitors gather at Uēkahuna bluff in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to watch Kīlauea summit eruption episode 53 lava fountaining on August 12, 2026. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Clear air during the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on August 11 offered geologists a wide-ranging view of Kīlauea and a couple of the other volcanoes on the Island of Hawai‘i, with Mauna Kea visible in the distance of this photo beyond the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa.

This wide-angle photo looks east over Kaluapele, the summit caldera of Kīlauea, during the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight on August 11. The Halema‘uma‘u eruptive vents are in the lower-right corner of the photo, with the volcanic gas plume carried southwest in the trade winds.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on August 11 passed low over the Kīlauea summit eruptive vents in western Halema‘uma‘u. This photo was captured looking to the south, with the north vent in the center foreground and the south vent behind it.

Backscattered electron image of olivine grains erupted at the summit of Kīlauea. Numbers in grains are forsterite (Fo) contents that measure the ratio of Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe). Fo=100*(Mg/(Mg+Fe)). Panel A shows a typical olivine that has one composition (Fo83).

A) Maximum lava fountain heights during episodes 1-51 of the episodic eruption at the summit of Kīlauea in meters with three cycles of fountain height growth. B) Magnesium oxide (MgO) concentrations in the glass of tephra samples from episodes 1-51. 

Photo compilation showing the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory team of technicians maintaining volcano monitoring instrumentation in various environments in Hawaii. USGS photos. 

Field photo of blocked culvert under roadway being cleaned out. Photograph by the U.S. Geological Survey.