Images

Tephra is anything erupted by a volcano that travels through the air before it is deposited on the ground. Lava fountaining episodes at the summit of Kīlauea since December 2024 have deposited glassy and lightweight tephra at various locations around Kīlauea summit and farther downwind, depending on the lava fountain heights and wind conditions.

This telephoto view, taken from the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, shows the base of the north vent lava fountain, which feeds a lava flow on to the crater floor during episode 44 on April 9, 2026. USGS photo by L. Gallant

During episode 44, the north vent at the summit of Kīlauea erupted a lava fountain about 500 feet (150 meters) high at 4 p.m. HST, feeding a lava flow on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater on April 9, 2026. This photograph shows the view from the south rim of the caldera. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

During episode 44 of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea, the NOAA Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center reported the plume reached up to 16,000 feet (about 4,900 meters) above sea level. This photo shows the plume close the eruptive vents, and tephra is visibly falling through the air as the photo was taken. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

At the Kilauea Military Camp in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, tephra from episode 44 lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea on April 9, 2026, covers the ground surface as the eruptive plume traverses overhead. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

During episode 44 of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea, tephra fallout was strongest in the direction of Kilauea Military Camp and the Volcano Golf Course subdivision, with pieces of lightweight reticulite up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) reported falling in these areas.

This image shows Kīlauea summit eruption lava fountaining episode 44 on April 9, 2026. The image was captured by a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory research camera on the south rim of the caldera. Although the south vent erupted most of the precursory lava flows, only the north vent erupted a lava fountain during the eruptive episode. USGS photo.

The tephra deposit from the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption has dramatically changed the landscape in the predominant downwind direction (southwest) of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Despite the expansive nature of the tephra deposit from the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, recent rains from Kona low storms have taken their toll. In this photo captured during the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight on March 31, an ephemeral stream has eroded through the deposit to expose the much older lava flows underneath.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists completed a helicopter overflight of the Kīlauea summit on March 31, 2026, during which they captured this overview photo of the eruptive vents in western Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Around Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, cleanup efforts continue following the tephra fall that occurred during Kīlauea summit eruption episode 43 on March 10.

Left: Kīlauea tephra glass magnesium oxide for the ongoing summit fountaining eruption (black circles) compared to the ranges of glass magnesium oxide for the 2020-2023 and April–May 2018 Halema‘uma‘u eruptions. Right: Electron microscope image of glassy tephra with round gas bubbles from episode 5 that erupted from January 22–23, 2025. USGS images and data.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist collects a cooled sample of episode 43 lava from the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Sampling in this area, which is culturally significant to the Native Hawaiian community, is down with permission from and coordination with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

This vertical aerial view, taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring helicopter overflight on March 25, 2026, shows a small area of weak spattering deep within the south vent, at the summit of Kīlauea. The south vent and spattering (orange dot) are visible at the bottom of the photo. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photograph was taken from the eastern part of the crater floor of Halemaʻumaʻu on March 25, 2026, after episode 43 of lava fountaining that occurred in this area on March 10, 2026. The north and south vents are visible with yellow sulfur crystals decorating its surface.

On March 25, 2026, U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff conducted a routine helicopter overflight to collect samples from the crater floor and thermal and visual images around Halemaʻumaʻu after episode 43 that occurred on March 10, 2026.

A misty view across Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, on March 25, 2026, from the caldera rim near the Volcano House Hotel in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The active north and south vents, on the southwest side of the caldera, are visibly degassing in this photo, following episode 43 of lava fountaining on March 10, 2026.

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales collect a sediment core from the Las Ninfas volcanic crater in El Salvador on March 23, 2026, searching for volcanic ash deposits. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.

This map shows the tephra fall associated with episode 43 of Kīlauea's episodic summit eruption, on March 10, 2026. Tephra is a generic word for any material erupted by a volcano that travels through the air before landing on the ground.

Highway 11 near Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was affected by fallout from episode 43 lava fountains at the summit of Kīlauea on March 10, 2026. The Highway, which was nearly continuously covered with tephra, was closed on March 10 as material was cleared using heavy equipment.

Fallout from Kīlauea episode 43 is continuing to be cleared as of the morning of March 11, 2026. This photo shows a pile of tephra that was cleared from a roadway in Kilauea Military Camp, in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, where the fallout continuously covered the ground. USGS photo.