Images

Episode 36 lava fountaining from Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption formed tephra, including Pele's hair (strands of fine volcanic glass). Winds blowing from the north resulted in Pele's hair being deposited in Pāhala, a town about 20 miles (32 km) to the southwest of the eruptive vents in Halema‘uma‘u.

During the lava fountains of episode 33 on September 19, tephra particles traveled through the air and fell downwind west of Halema‘uma‘u. This clast was about 16 inches (40 centimeters) long, very lightweight due to being very bubble-rich, and delicate. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

The day after episode 36 of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption, USGS geologists inspected the tephra deposit west of Halema‘uma‘u, in the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This photo looks south, with Halema‘uma‘u out of view to the left.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist collects video of episode 36 lava fountaining from the south rim of the caldera at Kīlauea summit, on Sunday, November 9. Video data helps document activity and is used for later research on lava fountaining dynamics.  USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This image, captured on November 9, 2025, by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory S2cam, shows lava fountaining from the north and south vents during episode 36 of ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea. Episode 36 lava fountaining began at 11:15 a.m. on November 9 and was over just 5 hours later, at 4:16 p.m. that same day.

View of the dual fountains during episode 36 at the summit of Kīlauea, on Sunday, November 9. View is from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. Peak heights of lava fountains erupted during this episode reached about 350 meters (1150 feet). USGS photo by M. Patrick.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists approach the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater to make observations of episode 36 at the summit of Kīlauea. This section of Crater Rim Drive within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was damaged in the 2018 summit collapse, and remains closed to the public. USGS photo by M. Patrick on November 9.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park visitors watch the lava fountains from Uēkahuna overlook on Sunday, November 9. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A telephoto view of the vent region within Halema‘uma‘u crater during episode 36 of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea, on Sunday, November 9. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineer conducts repairs on a gas sensor downwind of the eruptive vents at Kīlauea summit, after digging out tephra that partially buried the instrument during episode 35 lava fountaining. Photo taken October 21, 2025, by M. Patrick.

On October 21, a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineer dug out monitoring equipment buried by tephra fallout from the episode 35 lava fountaining. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This image, captured by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory KWcam, shows lava fountains erupting during episode 35 of the Kīlauea summit eruption. Dual lava fountains within Halemaʻumaʻu crater feed lava flows on the crater floor. USGS webcam image taken on October 18, 2025. 

Just before dawn during episode 34 on October 1, 2025, the north and south vents both erupted, creating a spectacular column and sending lava flows over crater floor as viewed from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory livestreaming V2cam. The north vent achieved a slightly higher fountain than the south at 383 meters (1256 feet). USGS photo. 

This image, captured by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory K2cam, shows lava fountains erupting during episode 34 of the Kīlauea summit eruption. The lights in the foreground show the walkway to the Uēkahuna Overlook in HAWAII Volcanoes National Park. USGS webcam image taken on October 1, 2025. 

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist surveys the elevation along a transect across the new tephra cone formed by the recent lava fountaining episodes at the summit of Kīlauea. Repeat measurements across the same set of points have been done after every episode starting with episode 23, to track the growth and changes of the tephra hill. USGS photo by M.

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 tephra erupted from Kīlauea volcano since December 23, 2024. Where the photo is taken the tephra is over 5 feet thick, increasing to over 60 feet thick at the mound of tephra on the skyline.

This panoramic image shows Halema‘uma‘u crater a few days after the end of episode 33 of the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea volcano. This photo, looking eastward (north is left, south is right), was taken from near the top of the mound of tephra that has accumulated west of Halema‘uma‘u since the start of the eruption in December 2024.

A curious horse leans over fence to nibble the shirt of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory lead field engineer as he works on the South Point repeater station. The South Point repeater station, located near the southern point of the Island of Hawaiʻi, is an important data relay station. USGS photo. 

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists did not see any lava at the bottom of north (bottom right) or south (center) vents during a Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight on September 24. This photo shows the western wall of Halema‘uma‘u, and much of the slope is covered in brown tephra erupted during episode 33 on September 19. USGS photo by N.

This aerial view of Kīlauea Iki (center crater with lava covering the floor) and Pu‘u Pua‘i (brown hill to its right) was taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on September 24. On the horizon from left to right are, Pu‘u‘ō‘ō (center), Kānenuiohamo (right of center), and Maunaulu (right).

On September 24, 2025, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crews collected samples from a cooled 'a'ā lava flow erupted during episode 33 (left half of photo in foreground) at Kīlauea volcano. This was part of a morning monitoring helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit.