Images

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) geologists on a routine KILAUEA summit monitoring helicopter overflight on Thursday, February 26, collected visual and thermal images to map out the changes on the crater floor following episode 42 lava fountaining at KILAUEA summit that took place on February 15, 2026.

This map shows lava flow and tephra accumulation at the summit of Kīlauea volcano associated with episode 42 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.

Tephra accumulated in the community of Pāhala, about 18.5 miles (30 km) to the southwest of north and south vents in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. A few hours after episode 42 started on February 15, 2026, fine ash of less than 0.03 inch (1 mm) diameter began to accumulate on surfaces.

This map shows recent deformation at Kīlauea, over the timeframe of February 10–16, 2026.

Long strands of Pele's hair, which is made of volcanic glass, drifted on the wind to the southwest during episode 42 of Kīlauea summit lava fountaining on February 15, 2026. This photo shows a bundle of these long strands of Pele's hair after they had blown around in the wind in the community of Pāhala and became tangled up. USGS photo by D. Downs.

A telephoto view of the south vent fountain, taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater at night on February 15, 2026. Molten clasts falling near the base of the fountain were feeding a channelized flow that carried lava into the eastern portion of the crater.

This night-time photo shows north and south vent lava fountains at the summit of Kīlauea, from the south rim of the Halema‘uma‘u crater. The south fountain (left) was fluctuating in height over timescales of seconds. At the bottom of the photo, a spatter-fed ‘a‘ā flow slowly advances, with clinker collapsing along its front. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Photograph of the north vent fountain during episode 42, taken from the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater on February 15, 2026. Semi-molten clasts feed a small ‘a‘ā lava flow carrying lava north from the base of the north vent lava fountain within the caldera.

The V3cam livestream webcam monitors the episode 42 lava fountaining from the south rim of Kīlauea caldera, USGS photo by M. Patrick on February 15, 2026.

This photo north vent lava fountain during Kīlauea summit eruption episode 42 was captured from the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater on February 15, 2026.

Late in the afternoon on Sunday, February 15, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitoring Kīlauea summit eruption episode 42 hiked west of Halema‘uma‘u crater for an angle of both the north and south vent lava fountains side by side. During most of episode, the south vent lava fountain (right) was slightly taller than the north vent's (left).

On Sunday, February 15, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitored episode 42 of the Kīlauea summit eruption from the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. Despite driving rains, this location provided good views of the north vent's lava fountains and flows on the crater floor. Around 4:20 p.m.

A telephoto view of the base of the two lava fountains, and the narrow gap that was present between them, during episode 42 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on February 15, 2026. On the south side of the north fountain (right), a very small third fountain was active, with frequent bubble bursting. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The KWcam is located on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The camera is one of many located around the Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, that aid in monitoring conditions. This image was captured 6:26 p.m. on February 15, 2026, during episode 42 of lava fountaining. USGS photo. 

Photograph of the north vent fountain during episode 42, taken from the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater on February 15, 2026. Semi-molten clasts feed a small ‘a‘ā lava flow carrying lava north from the base of the north vent lava fountain within the caldera.

At brief moments during episode 42 Kīlauea summit lava fountaining on February 15, 2026, the south (left) and north (right) fountains were similar in height, and wispy fingers of gas and small particles from the two fountains mingled in the gap between them. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

View of Kaluapele (Kīlauea's summit caldera) from the B1 webcam on February 6, 2026, acquired between lava fountaining episodes 41 and 42.

This annotated photograph shows the different size categories of tephra associated with recent lava fountaining episodes at the summit of Kīlauea. The inset photo on the bottom left shows the vesicular (bubble-rich) texture of most of these clasts. The smallest particles of tephra are volcanic ash, and they are smaller than 1/16 of an inch (2 mm).

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff participated in a monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit caldera, Kaluapele, the morning of February 4, 2026, to investigate and collect samples of the episode 41 lava flows that were emplaced on January 24, 2026. These lava flows covered most of the crater floor during the lava fountaining episode. USGS photo by D.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists captured this view during a morning helicopter monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit caldera, Kaluapele, on the morning of February 4, 2026. Despite glow present on the USGS livestream cameras overnight, no lava or incandescent material was visible in the north (right) and south (left) vents. USGS photo by D. Downs.

Image of an olivine crystal taken with a petrographic microscope. A) Olivine with melt inclusion (honey color) with a vapor gas bubble inside it (black circle). B) Zoomed in view of olivine highlighting a fluid inclusion (black circle, white dot in center) and a melt inclusion. USGS images.