Images

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Scientists hike to the northwest rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) for maintenance at the V1cam livestream camera. The crew wears special personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect their eyes and lungs from exposure to tiny volcanic glass particles.

The ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater remains paused following the end of episode 31 on August 23. Intermittent glow is visible from the north vent (lower right) in nighttime views. Small lava channels are visible near the center of this telephoto image cutting through the tephra blanket on the western crater floor.

Clear weather provided good conditions for a helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit the morning of August 25, 2025. The overflight allowed USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to conduct a photogrammetric survey of the crater floor following the episode 31 lava fountaining late last week, as well as to collect lava samples.

A helicopter carries USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists over Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff) as it flies over Kīlauea's summit caldera to conduct a photo survey following the episode 31 lava fountaining. Mauna Loa can be seen in the distance. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

On August 25, 2025, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crews sampled lava and tephra from episode 31 during a morning monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit. Samples from the episode will be later analyzed in the lab to track changes in the chemistry of erupted material and help scientists understand the processes driving the 2024-2025 episodic eruption.

During a Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight on August 25, 2025, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crews documented the geometry of the north vent that fountained predominantly during episode 31. The conduit is at a high angle into the southwest wall of the north vent. USGS photo by K. Lynn.

Lava fountains at the summit of Kīlauea during episode 31. Afternoon views of the eruption from the northwest caldera rim provided views of the inclined lava fountain from the north vent, as well as the eruption plume. During eruption episodes, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission rates increase.

With permission from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff monitor and document episode 31 of the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano, which began on August 22.

During Kīlauea summit eruption episode 31 on August 22, inclined lava fountains extended 300 meters (1000 feet) laterally from the north vent, going eastward towards the center of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

Episode 31 fountains began at 2:04 p.m. HST, after spattering was visible overnight along with several sluggish lava flows from the north vent.  After episode 31 started, lava fountains steadily grew in size to over 325 feet (100 m). The fountains exited the north vent at a 45-degree angle and would be over 500 feet high if they were straight up.

Inclined lava fountains from Kīlauea summit eruption episode 31 on August 22 have blanketed the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor with tephra, in addition to feeding lava flows extending to the east. USGS photo by M. Zoeller. 

As the sun sets on August 22, a lava fountain continues to erupt within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea. This is the 31rst episode of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu since this eruption began on December 23, 2024. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

31 episodes of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea since December 23, 2024, have covered the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu with a patchwork of lava flows of varying ages. With each episode, more of the crater floor is covered and in total, the lava flows have filled over 260 feet (80 meters) of the crater with new lava.  USGS photo by M. Patrick.

COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) interferogram for the period from August 2 to August 10, 2025, covering Kīlauea volcano’s summit region.

This close-up view of the Kīlauea summit eruption's north vent was captured during an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) overflight conducted by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists on August 18. Looking down to the southwest, the Halema‘uma‘u crater wall is out of view to the top of the frame.

Sand and large, wave-rounded boulders frame the edge of the 2018 Kīlauea lava delta near Isaac Hale Beach Park. Wave action has eroded these boulders from the 2018 lava flow and deposited them on the beach. USGS photo.

On August 13, USGS scientists collect recent spatter samples of episode 30 lava from a temporary fissure feature that appeared early in episode 30. The chemistry of these lava samples is analyzed to better understand the source and storage of magma driving Hawaiian eruptions. USGS photo by K. Mulliken 

August 13 - View of the lava/tephra pile from the sampling location on the temporary fissure from episode 30. The helicopter landed on the crater floor on the new pāhoehoe lava that formed while the talus slope of the fissure vent was erupting. 

This image from August 13, 2025, shows spatter on the western wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater where samples were collected. No molten lava was visible during the overflight and the Kīlauea summit eruption remains paused. USGS photo by D. Downs

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineer works on the infrastructure that supports the MLcam and MTcam on the north rim of Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa volcano. The MLcam provides visual imagery of Moku‘āweoweo while the MTcam provides thermal imagery.

An aerial view of Kīlauea Iki and Pu‘u Pua‘i taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Obsrvatory monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on August 8.