USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists used a laser rangefinder to measure the height of the lava fountains erupting in Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) on December 24. Between 2:30 and 4:15 p.m. HST, the lava fountains were reaching heights of about 75 meters (246 feet). USGS photo by C. Sealing. 

A telephoto view of lava fountains erupting within Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) the afternoon of December 24. This eruption began on December 23 with vigorous lava and volcanic gas effusion, which decreased throughout the day until the eruption paused around 4:00 p.m. HST. Renewed, low-level eruption of sluggish lava began around 8 a.m. HST this morning, December 24, and around 11:00 a.m. HST, more gas-rich lava began reaching the surface causing fountaining to become more vigorous. Increased fountaining accompanied by increasing tremor and the resumption of summit deflation mark the onset of a second eruptive episode. USGS photo by H. Winslow. 

The eruption at Kīlauea summit lights up Christmas Eve, as viewed from the overlook at Volcano House within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. A plume of volcanic gas and fine volcanic particles rises above the erupting vents before it is transported downwind, generally in a southwest direction within a closed area of the National Park. USGS photo by H. Winslow. 

This reference map depicts the new Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater on December 23, 2024, constructed using data captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight at 9:30 a.m. The eruption started in the early morning with lava fountains on the crater floor and in the western wall, where activity gradually focused as the morning progressed. By the time of the overflight, new lava flows had covered approximately 650 acres (265 hectares) of the crater floor to an average depth of about 10 feet (3 meters). 

This thermal map shows lava flows covering the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea.  Fountaining was active in the southwest portion of the caldera, with flows extending east onto the downdropped block. Cooler colors (purple, black) show lower temperatures while hotter colors (orange, yellow) show higher temperatures. USGS map by M. Patrick.