Images

On April 29, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory undertook a helicopter surveillance flight over Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. At the time, the ongoing eruption was between eruptive episodes (episode 18 ended on April 22). In this photo looking down towards the east, lava is seen within north vent.

On April 29, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory undertook a helicopter surveillance flight over Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. At the time, the ongoing eruption was between eruptive episodes (episode 18 ended on April 22). In this photo looking down towards the east, lava is seen within north vent.

This photograph, taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring helicopter overflight midday on April 29, 2025, shows an overview of Kīlauea Iki (center) and Pu‘upua‘i (bottom center to right). Kīlauea Iki erupted in 1959 over a 5-week period with 17 fountaining episodes, similar to the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u.

This photo shows south (center) and north (right) vents degassing, three days after the end of episode 18 of Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption. Mauna Loa's flank is visible in the upper portion of the photo. The tephra blanket (brown) from recent episodes is visible on the wall behind the vents and also draping over the ground at the top of the cliff.

During the course of routine monitoring equipment maintenance, on Friday, April 25 a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist visited a site on the southeastern rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) known as Akanikōlea—a culturally-significant place that is featured in Hawaiian oral traditions.

Episode 18 on April 22, 2025, of Kīlauea's ongoing eruption occurred during wind conditions that resulted in tephra being deposited in the Uēkahuna area, north of the vents. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park temporarily closed the Uēkahuna area at the time and cleaned affected roads and parking lots after episode 18 ended (foreground).

View of north and south vents from the northwest, approximately 21 hours after the end of episode 18 of the eruption at Kīlauea's summit. Volcanic gases, mostly water vapor, obscure most of the view as the wind blows the gas northwards. USGS photo by N. Deligne. 

Dawn timelapse image showing the shadow of the episode 18 lava fountain in Halemaʻumaʻu on the west caldera wall at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo by M. Patrick.   

This photo shows a close up of the north vent at the summit of Kīlauea during episode 18 of the ongoing eruption.  Low fountaining supplied lava to a lava pond that was continuously overflowing the rim of the cone, creating swiftly moving cascades of lava down the flank of the cone.  USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

This photo shows a close up of the south vent at the summit of Kīlauea during episode 18.  USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

A closer view of the ephemeral lava channel active the morning of April 20, supplied by lava from the intermittent activity at the south vent at Kīlauea summit. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists accessed the caldera rim on April 20 by driving on Crater Rim Drive in the hazardous closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This area, which is generally downwind of the eruptive vents, has now been covered by 2 meters (yards) of tephra from the recent lava fountaining.

Minor vent activity the morning of April 20 around 8 a.m. HST produced a small flow on Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and an intermittent dome fountain. The low fountain and spattering at the vent often showed a cycle of 3-4 minutes, with lava rising and falling in the conduit at that timescale. The activity was off and on into the early afternoon. USGS photo by M.

The low dome fountain at the south vent o April 20 was supplying lava to a flow that was approximately 500 meters (550 yards) long. The tip of the lava flow was pouring into the depression formed by the drained lava pond from episode 17. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A koa‘e kea (white tailed tropicbird) soars above Halema‘uma‘u crater floor in front of low fountaining at the south vent on April 20. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

During UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) overflights on April 18, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists flew their aircraft directly above the south vent within Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea for a close-up view into its depths.

During UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) overflights on April 18, the north vent within Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea was vigorously degassing although it did not host any obvious active lava. This high-angle aerial photo shows multiple openings in the base of the vent cone that glowed hot in simultaneously captured thermal images.

Satellite image showing changes in the Pohoiki area on the Island of Hawaiʻi. The pre-2018 coastline is shown in white, extent of the first and second phase of growth in blue (about 1 year after the end of the 2018 eruption), and the current active phase as seen in the satellite image from March 2024. Satellite image from GoogleEarth.

This map shows deformation at Kīlauea volcano associated with the ongoing summit eruption that started on December 23, 2024. The image covers the timespan from April 9–17, 2025, using data recorded by the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite constellation.

On April 15, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists flew UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) into Halemaʻumaʻu to monitor the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption.

On April 15, a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist prepares for a UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) flight into Halemaʻumaʻu to monitor the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. UAS flights are conducted with the permission of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and aid in hazard assessment of ongoing volcanic activity.