Images

The north vent (right in photo) in Halemaʻumaʻu erupted a lava fountain during episode 46 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 5, 2026. The south vent (left in photo) spattered intermittently during the first half of episode 46, and gas jetting continued to be visible during the latter half of episode 46. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

The lava fountain from the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea viewed from the south rim at approximately 3 p.m. HST on May 5, 2026. Channelized lava flowing from the north vent fed lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist monitors episode 46 lava fountain in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea. From various locations around Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, USGS scientists check for tephra fallout, document and characterize eruptive activity, and measure the lava fountain and volcanic plume heights. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

This image shows the north vent in Halema‘uma‘u erupting a lava fountain during episode 46 at Kīlauea summit on May 5, 2026. This image was captured by a timelapse camera located on the south rim of the caldera. USGS webcam image. 

This photograph was taken by the KWcam located on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater during episode 46 of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea on May 5, 2026. The episode began at 8:17 a.m.

This telephoto view shows the base of the north vent lava fountain during episode 46 at the summit of Kīlauea on May 5, 2026. A wide channel of lava flows from the vent, to feed lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

This macro photograph shows Pele's hair, strands of volcanic glass, that had accumulated into a tumble-weed-like structure where it fell at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field station near Kilauea Military Camp in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. A highlighter cap provides a scale. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

Just after 10 a.m. on May 5, 2026, the eruption plume from episode 46 of Kīlauea summit lava fountaining was visible in the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory MLcam, located on the north rim of Mokuʻāweoweo (Mauna Loa summit caldera).

From the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, the north vent lava fountain during episode 46 on May 5, 2026, rose above the crater rim. In the foreground, the damaged remains of Crater Rim Drive, which became impassable during the 2018 Kīlauea summit collapse, are littered with tephra fallout from past lava fountaining episodes. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

Another view of the north vent erupting a lava fountain at the summit of Kīlauea during episode 46 on May 5, 2026. This photograph was taken from the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu, and part of the crater rim visible in the foreground. Incandescent lava flows on the crater floor are visible emanating downslope of the north vent. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

This map shows lava flow and tephra accumulation at the summit of Kīlauea volcano associated with episode 45 and 46 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.

This animated gif showing changes to Kīlauea summit region during the episodic lava fountaining eruption. The first satellite image was taken on November 27, 2024, before the eruption began.

Photos of the fissure and lava cascading over the caldera rim from the August 14, 1971, eruption (top left), the extensive fissure system from the July 19–22, 1974 eruption (top center), and an aerial photo of the lava flow field from the September 25, 1982, eruption (top right).

Photo compilation of episodes 1–45 of the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea, including webcam imagery and photos taken by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists on the ground and during helicopter overflights. In all photos except for episode 7, the south vent is on the left and the north vent is on the right.

The episode 45 lava fountain was steady as dawn appeared at the summit of Kīlauea, with the clouds illuminated in hues of pink and purple. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Episode 45 lava fountaining began around 1:30 a.m. HST on Thursday, April 23, and continued for 8.5 hours. Fountain heights were moderate (mostly under 300 meters, or 1000 feet), and winds carried the tephra away from populated areas, minimizing tephra impacts. The north vent had the sole fountain, with the south vent showing only weak sporadic spattering.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted post-episode-45 servicing of cameras along the south rim of Kīlauea caldera and witnessed a large dust devil, which is puahiohio in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, driven by heat rising from the hot lava flows on floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

During a monitoring helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit on April 23, 2026, shortly after the end of episode 45 of lava fountaining, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists got views into the north vent that show a complex structure with multiple openings.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted a summit monitoring overflight shortly after the end of episode 45 to collect visual and thermal imagery of Halema‘uma‘u crater and new lava flows in order the map the extent of the new deposits at Kīlauea summit. The episode 45 lava flows are the lighter portions of the crater floor in this view.

Lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater are fed by fountaining from the north vent during the early morning hours on April 23, 2026. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

This telephoto image shows where molten parts of the north vent lava fountain cascaded down to become part of lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu during episode 45 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on April 23, 2026. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.