Images

Numerous fumaroles, or degassing areas, dot the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea. These features are ephemeral, being covered with lava flows and then reappearing, and are often surrounded with bright yellow sulfur deposits. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

The vent structure that has built up in Halemaʻumaʻu is approaching the elevation of the crater rim, but several hundred feet remain between it and the top of the tephra cone built up on the crater rim by the fountaining episodes since December 2024.

This photograph, which was taken from the ground in the southeastern portion of Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea, shows USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists collecting samples of a lava flow from episode 49 that took place on June 14, 2026.

Volcanic gas emitting from the Halemaʻumaʻu south vent at the summit of Kīlauea obscured views during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring flight on June 24, 2026. Glow from the molten lava within the vent is vaguely visible in this view. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

During a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on June 24, 2026, scientists captured this view looking down into the bifurcated structure within the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Magma was visible roiling within the vent. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. 

In Halemaʻumaʻu crater, a patchwork of lava flows of different ages from different eruptive episodes at Kīlauea summit have paved the crater floor.

On the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, bulldozers were used to create mounds, visible in the center portion of the image, in an effort to prevent planes from landing in this area of Kīlauea during World War II. The episodic lava fountaining eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu has partially blanketed this area in tephra, but these features remain visible.

A rainbow (ānuenue) frames altered and sulfur-coated tephra on the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea. These deposits often form in between lava fountaining episodes in Halemaʻumaʻu, as degassing and heat release continues. During lava fountaining episodes, new deposits coat the crater rim and bury the existing ones.

Comparison images from June 14, 2026, showing the episode 49 lava fountain at 11:01 a.m. (left) and the same location at 5:59 p.m., shortly after the fountaining stopped (right). Only the north vent produced lava fountaining during episode 49, while the south vent (located to the left of the fountain) displayed some minor spattering and jetting.

This telephoto view of the north vent lava fountain during episode 49 on June 14. 2026, shows the incandescent lava landing on and illuminating the Halema‘uma‘u crater wall. USGS photo by T. Paladino.

Episode 49 of the Kīlauea summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u ended abruptly by 5:05 p.m. HST on June 14, after 7.5 hours of lava fountaining activity from the north vent. The final waning stage of fountaining activity lasted less than 5 minutes, during which the lava fountain dropped below 60-80 meters (200-260 ft) in height.

This photograph, taken just after 2 p.m. HST on June 14, 2026, shows a dust devil, or puahiohio, forming within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea during lava fountaining episode 49. USGS photo. 

USGS scientists traverse the tephra deposit from the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u on June 14, 2026, to collect real-time measurements of lava fountain heights, tephra dispersal, and crater floor coverage during episode 49.

During lava fountaining episodes at the summit of Kīlauea, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists use laser rangefinders to estimate high how the lava fountains are reaching above the vents and how far the lava flows have traveled from the vents. Additionally, they document eruption dynamics and record eruptive activity using high-resolution cameras.

An overview of episode 49 of lava fountaining during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u, taken from Kīlauea overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Fountains reached a maximum height of approximately 210 m (688 ft), but because of wind patterns, little to no tephra was deposited in the public viewing areas of the national park.

Episode 49 of the Kīlauea summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u started at 9:36 a.m. HST on June 14, 2026, and lasted approximately 7.5 hours. Only north vent erupted a lava fountain, which reached a maximum height of about 210 m (688 ft). USGS photo by T. Paladino.

Aerial photograph showing the eruptive vents in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight on June 9, 2026. Erupted material (lava flows and tephra) continues to build up the base of the vents, and sulfur precipitation is present on the vent walls (yellow patches). USGS photo by H. Winslow.

On June 9, 2026, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists landed on the floor of Halema'uma'u crater in the vicinity of the south sulphur bank, visible in the background of this photo. The south sulphur bank was prominently visible in the mid-19th century but was covered as lava flows filled the caldera and wasn't visible in the twentieth century.

USGS scientists conduct Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight on June 9, 2026, to document changes to the eruptive vents and crater floor after episode 48 that took place on June 1.

This view is of the cone (pu‘u) that has formed in the predominant downwind direction (southwest) of the north and south vents during the ongoing eruption at Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo is south of the southwest corner of Halema‘uma‘u and is looking to the north-northwest.

Before and after photos of vegetation defoliation outside the new USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Field Station building located near the Kilauea Military Camp inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Left photo was taken on February 11, 2026. Right photo was taken on April 21, 2026. USGS photos by K. Mulliken.