Videos

During Kīlauea summit eruption episode 28 on Wednesday, July 9, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted an aerial overflight of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, which included a brief landing on the crater floor to collect lava samples.

This video, taken around 6:30 a.m. HST on July 9, 2025, shows the fan-shaped lava fountain being erupted during episode 28 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. This perspective is from the north rim of Kaluapele, near Kīlauea Overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Episode 28 was active for 9 hours, the final 8 of which consisted of high fountaining.

This video shows timelapse sequences for episode 25 and 26 lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea. The episodes were similar in that both were dominated by fountaining from the north vent, and reached over 350 m (1150 feet).

This timelapse video shows the lava fountaining during episode 24 of the ongoing summit eruption of Kīlauea. The main fountain, at the north vent (right), grows quickly and soon surpasses the top of the camera image, reaching over 300 meters (1000 ft) high.

This timelapse video (taken by the V3cam on the south rim of the crater) shows all of episode 23 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, which was active from 4:15 p.m. HST to 10:25 p.m. on May 25. Both the north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu erupted during episode 23. Lava fountains from the north vent reached heights of more than 1,000 feet (300 meters).

This video compilation shows several clips of episode 23 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, which was active from 4:15 p.m. HST to 10:25 p.m. on May 25. Both the north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu erupted during episode 23. Lava fountains from the north vent reached heights of more than 1,000 feet (300 meters).

This video compilation shows several clips of episode 23 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption taken by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory livestream cameras. During episode 23, which was active from 4:15 p.m. HST to 10:25 p.m. on May 25, both the north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu erupted.

Kīlauea summit livestream camera viewers have recently observed flames within the vents in Halemaʻumaʻu. These flames, which are often a yellowish orange color, result from hydrogen gas burning in air. Hydrogen is a minor component of volcanic gas released from the hot magma below, and it can sometimes be ignited causing the flames observed recently.

This audio clip is the infrasound recorded during 1 minute on May 3, 2025, at 9:33 p.m.

This video shows a clip from a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring helicopter overflight on Tuesday, April 22, when high fountaining was occurring from the south vent at the summit of Kīlauea during episode 18 of the ongoing eruption. Other clips show activity captured during a field visit to the south rim of the caldera.

This timelapse video shows approximately 1 hour of activity compressed into 38 seconds, and covers a period of intermittent activity in the south vent the morning of April 20.

This video shows clips from a helicopter overflight and a field visit by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to the crater rim to observe the lava fountaining in episode 17 of the ongoing summit eruption of Kīlauea.

This timelapse video shows lava fountaining during episode 16 of the ongoing summit eruption at Kīlauea. The fountain height rose rapidly during the onset and reached heights of about 300 meters (1000 feet). The fountain was relatively stable, but sometimes shows variations in inclination, presumably due to changes in vent geometry or wind direction.

Aerial video of Kīlauea summit eruption episode 16 lava fountain and its lava flow on April 1, 2025, taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight at approximately noon. The lava fountain was reaching heights of more than 650 ft (200 m) at times and feeding a lava flow that as of noon on April 1 reached about 2,300 ft (700 m) from its vent.

This timelapse video shows lava fountaining during episode 15 of the summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano. The sequence starts with small filling-draining cycles in the vent that abruptly shift into major fountaining. The inclination of the fountain changes repeatedly, depositing lava in varying directions around the vent.

Videos of activity during Episode 15 of the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea volcano in Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The first clip was taken on March 25, 2025, when the north vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater periodically hosted low-level dome fountains during periods of cyclic lava effusion and drainback.

Lava fountain activity during episode 15 of the Halema‘uma‘u eruption at the summit of Kīlauea. Fountain heights reached up to about 1,000 feet (305 meters) during episode 15. Vigorous lava fountaining feeds lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.  

Lava fountaining in the southwest portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater from episode 14 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on March 20, 2025. The south fountain was dominant around midday, and supplied lava into a long, narrow channel that fed into a circular perched lava pond. 

This timelapse video shows the full sequence of activity during episode 14 of the ongoing summit eruption of Kīlauea. The activity began with many hours of filling-draining cycles at both the north and south vents - these are periodic rise-and-fall cycles in the lava column that accompany low-level spattering and small overflows.

This video is shown at 100x speed and captures several cycles of filling and draining in the lava pond at the northern vent at the summit of Kīlauea on March 19, 20-25, during episode 14 of the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u. Each cycle begins with low fountaining and lava gradually refilling the pond above the conduit.

This video, captured on March 19, 2025, just prior to episode 14 of the Kīlauea summit eruption in Halemʻamaʻu, shows gas-pistoning cycles in the north vent. The video has been sped up 100x, and about one hour is shown in 40 seconds. During these gas-piston events, lava rises within the north vent and emits only a faint, hazy gas plume.