Images

V3cam on the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, Kīlauea volcano. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff deployed the new camera on December 19, 2025, with permission from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

This reference map depicts the Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater that began on December 23, 2024. As of this posting on December 11, 2025, the eruption has had thirty-eight episodes, with the most recent occurring on December 6.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist collects clinker from a rubbly spatter-fed lava flow in Halema‘uma‘u crater produced during episode 38 lava fountaining. These lava samples are collected with permission from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and analyzed in the lab to better understand the magmatic system of Kīlauea.

These three thermal maps were made from oblique thermal images collected during helicopter overflights of Kīlauea summit. The collection dates bracket the last two episodes of lava fountaining - episode 37 was on November 25 and episode 38 was on December 6.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist services a GPS station on the floor of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera). These instruments help measure ground deformation and track pressure changes in the summit magma reservoir. USGS photo by C. Sealing.

This map shows lava flow and tephra accumulation at the summit of Kīlauea volcano associated with episode 38 of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu that started on December 23, 2024, using data recorded by the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite constellation.

On December 9, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an aerial overflight of Kīlauea summit region, following lava fountaining episode 38 of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption on December 6. In this photo, the line on the ground in the lower left portion of the image shows the extent of tephra deposits created during episode 38.

On Tuesday, December 9, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted a helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit to survey changes from episode 38 lava fountaining a few days earlier. Scientists collected visual images for photogrammetry, thermal images, and collected lava samples from the caldera floor.

Moments before the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory livestreaming V3cam was destroyed by falling tephra in episode 38 on December 6 ,2025, the V2cam captured the arc of lava erupting from the south vent.  While the maximum fountain height of 384 meters (1260 feet) was on par with prior episodes, the fountaining erupted laterally by 600 meters (1970 feet); easi

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crew captured this photo of Kīlauea summit eruption episode 38 from the southern rim of Halemaʻumaʻu just after noon on December 6. This was shortly after the north vent shut down, so only south vent lava fountains were ongoing, measured to reach 920 feet (280 meters) in height at the time. USGS photo by M.

On December 6, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists monitored and measured the Kīlaeua summit eruption episode 38 from multiple vantage points. This photo was captured around 10:00 a.m. from the northwest rim of the crater, near the V1 live-streaming webcam, with vigorous lava fountains underway at both the north and south vents. USGS photo by M.

The V3 camera was located on the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i. The camera, located in a hazardous closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, was buried by tephra from an inclined lava fountain between 9:55 and 9:57 am HST on December 6, during episode 38 that began this morning at 8:45 am.

This telephoto view shows the darker-colored, cooler tephra particles erupted by the episode 38 lava fountains falling from the eruptive plume. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

In the late morning of December 6, a crew of USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists walked to the southern rim of Halemaʻumaʻu to watch Kīlauea summit eruption episode 38. Along the way they had dramatic views of the eruptive plume, which reached an altitude of over 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above sea level during this episode. USGS photo by M.

The volcanic landscape of Kīlauea volcano being reshaped during episode 38 of the eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu.

Views of Kīlauea summit eruption lava fountaining episode 38 in Halema‘uma‘u crater on the Island of Hawai‘i, with ‘ōhi‘a lehua in the foreground. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

An eruptive plume rises from the summit of Kīlauea volcano, visible from Highway 11 near Volcano Village on the Island of Hawaiʻi. This plume was generated during episode 38 of lava fountaining within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, which took place on December 6, 2025. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

During Kīlauea summit eruption episode 38 on December 6, "tephra-nadoes" made a return, as seen to the left of the lava fountain in this photo. Swirling winds in the tephra fallout plume led to this short-lived twister, spotted by a field crew on the southern rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

Top left photo: An HVO scientist stands next to a garden stake with 20-cm (8-in) intervals marked in blue, next to an old road sign that had been progressively buried by tephra during episodes 1-21; this photo was taken May 15. The next day, episode 22 completed buried the garden stake.

This aerial photograph, taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight the morning of December 2, 2025, shows volcanic gas wafting over the tephra-blanketed rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The ripple-like deposits on the right side of the image, on the crater rim, are spatter-fed lava flows that formed during episode 34 on October 1.

The north and south vents were degassing during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on December 2, 2025. Eruptive activity at these vents was paused on December 2, following 9 hours of lava fountaining during episode 37 on November 25, but a spattering lava surface was visible deep within both vents. USGS photo by K.