Photo and Video Chronology — December 30, 2024 — Kīlauea summit eruption continues

By Hawaiian Volcano Observatory December 30, 2024

The eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began on Monday, December 23, continues with reinvigorated lava fountaining over the past few days. Eruptive activity has been confined to the southwest part of the caldera.

Geologist looking into crater where orange lava fountains are erupting — A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist uses a laser rangefinder to collect fountain height measurements from the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. Fountain heights reached approximately 30–35 m (100–115 ft) on the morning of December 30, 2024. The S2cam webcam on the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, is visible in the bottom left corner of the photo. USGS photo by H. Winslow.

Low-light photo of yellow glowing lava fountains feeding red and black lava flows on crater floor — Photo of the lava fountains and flows within the western part of Halema‘uma‘u crater just before dawn on December 30, 2024. The lava fountains have started to build scoria cones around themselves with the fountains consistently reaching to 30 m (100 ft) high. These fountains are feeding lava flows that have covered the western quarter of the crater floor. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey geologist D. Downs.

low-light photo of orange lava fountains erupting within a black spatter cone — A close-up photo taken just before dawn of the lava fountains in the western part of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit, on December 30, 2024. These lava fountains are consistently reaching 30 m (100 ft) high and building a spatter cone that is about 20 m (65 ft) high, 95 m (310 ft) long, and 60 m (200 ft) wide. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey geologist D. Downs.

Low-light zoomed in view of lava flow with incandescent orange cracks between plates black lava crust — Photo of the lava flows in the western part of Halema‘uma‘u crater just before dawn on December 30, 2024. These lava flows are reaching about 2,300 ft (or 700 m) from their source at the lava fountains and covering the pre-existing topography. The flows currently cover about a quarter of the western part of the crater floor. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey geologist D. Downs.

aerial view of orange lava fountains erupting from the base of a crater wall and a white gas plume being emitted — Aerial view looking to the southwest of the active and inactive parts of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The dark black lava in the foreground covered most of the crater floor on the first day of the eruption, starting around 2:20 a.m. on December 23, 2024. The current activity is concentrated near the lava fountains in the western quarter of the crater floor. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey geologist D. Downs.

orange lava fountains erupting from black lava within crater — An Aerial view of two eruptive cones in the southwest corner of Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea's summit on the morning of December 30, 2024. The fissure fountains reached heights of approximately 30 meters (100 ft) and lava flows continue to cover a portion of the crater floor. USGS photo by H. Winslow.

orange lava fountains erupting from the base of a crater wall — Aerial view looking to the southwest of the active eruption in Halema‘uma‘u crater on December 30, 2024. The lava fountains are reaching up to 30 m (100 ft) high and feeding the incandescent lava in the foreground. The current activity is concentrated in the western quarter of the crater floor. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey geologist D. Downs.

Orange lava fountains erupting in black lava spatter cones with white gas plume being emitted — This aerial photo was captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on the morning of Monday, December 30, 2024, providing a south-looking telephoto overhead view of the lava fountains within Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Aerial overview of Kīlauea summit caldera and white gas plume rising from eruption in crater — This aerial photo was captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on the morning of Monday, December 30, 2024, providing a southwest-looking overview of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u. The lava fountains are visible in the center of the image, in the southwest corner of Halema‘uma‘u. The volcanic gas plume is rising from the lava fountains and is being blown south by the tradewinds. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Orange lava fountains erupting from within black spatter cones at the base of a rocky crater wall — This aerial photo was captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on the morning of Monday, December 30, 2024, providing a southwest-looking overview of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. Active lava fountains are visible in the center of the photo, with lava flowing within the southwest portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. In the center bottom of the photo there is a smooth surface with a thin yellow ring; this is the remnant of the island which formed during the eruption that started in December 2020. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Orange lava fountains erupting inside of black lava spatter cone at the base of a crater wall — During a helicopter overflight on the morning of Monday, December 30, 2024, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists were provided a low-level view of the eruptive vents in the western wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea's summit. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Orange incandescent lava fountains erupting from black lava on crater floor — This oblique aerial photo was captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on the morning of Monday, December 30, 2024, providing a southwest-looking view of the active fountains of the ongoing eruption within Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Annotated photo of volcanic crater with orange lava fountains and white gas plume being emitted — This annotated image shows the lava flows and tephra deposits of the southwest portion of Kaluapele (Kīlauea's summit caldera). The photo was taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight on the morning of Monday, December 30, 2024, with a view to the east. The black lava in the bottom right part of the photo erupted within the last week, and lava flows from 1982 (dark brown), 1974 (brown), and 1921 (light brown) are visible in the bottom left side of the image. Keanakāko‘i Tephra forms tan deposits in the bottom center and background of the photo; Keanakāko‘i Tephra were erupted from the 1500s to early 1800s. Tephra deposits from the current eruption can be seen through the volcanic plume. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Get Our News

These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.

Hawaii News

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory News

Kīlauea News

Natural Hazards News

Volcano Hazards Program News