Images

Episode 45 of the Kīlauea summit eruption began at 1:34 a.m. HST on April 23, 2026. This photo was taken around 3:00 a.m. that morning, and shows lava fountaining from the north vent, feeding lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The eruptive episode would go on until 10:01 a.m. HST on April 23, for about 8.5 hours of eruption total. USGS photo by K.

A closer look at the lava channels just north of the north fountain during episode 45 at Kīlauea summit, on the steeper slopes surrounding the two vents. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

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.

The top of the lava fountain from the north vent during episode 45 at Kīlauea summit. Clasts in this zone either fell back to towards the base of the fountain and fed into the lava channel, or were carried higher into the plume to be deposited farther downwind. 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.

A USGS geologist collects video of the north fountain and makes visual observations of the fountain dynamics during episode 45 at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The episode 45 outgassing plume at the summit of Kīlauea rose vertically and cast a long shadow towards Mauna Loa at sunrise. The wide-angle lens used for this photograph distorts the angle of the fountain. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

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.

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.

Multiple small channels drain a ponded zone of the lava flow active in the central portion of the crater floor during lava fountaining episode 45 at the summit of Kīlauea on April 23, 2026. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

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. 

This telephoto view shows the west side of the north fountain in Halema‘uma‘u during episode 45 on April 23, 2026. Tephra deposits have built a steeply sloped cone on the west side of the vent, with the slope illuminated by the fountain. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

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.

This wide-angle photograph looks steeply upwards to capture the full extent of the outgassing plume rising vertically from the north vent at the summit of Kīlauea during the early morning of April 23, 2026, when episode 45 of lava fountaining was underway. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This image shows the north vent in Halema‘uma‘u erupting a lava fountain during episode 45 at Kīlauea summit on April 23, 2026, with a large dust devil, or puahiohio in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, driven by heat rising from the hot lava flows, visible near the lava fountain. This image was captured by a timelapse camera located on the south rim of the caldera.

Photograph of lava channels flowing from the base of the north vent lava fountain during episode 45 of lava fountaining in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea on April 23, 2026. Episode 45 began just after 1 a.m. HST and ended about 8.5 hours later at 10:01 a.m. HST.

Satellite image of Kilauea Military Camp near Kīlauea summit in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and neighboring Volcano Golf Course subdivision taken on April 22, 2026, and showing tephra covering the ground and roofs.

Satellite image of the north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea on April 22, 2026. Incandescent lava is visible in both vents, and episode 45 of lava fountaining started shortly later during the early morning hours of April 23, 2026. Image credit: WorldView ©2026 Maxar, USG Plus.

Satellite image of Volcano House Hotel (lower right in image), Kīlauea Visitor Center (middle right in image), and neighboring infrastructure near Kīlauea summit in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park taken on April 22, 2026.

Satellite image of Halemaʻumaʻu and Kaluapele at Kīlauea summit in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Two eruptive vents (named the north and south vents) in Halemaʻumaʻu have been erupting lava fountains episodically since December 23, 2024. Forty-five episodes have occurred to date, depositing tephra around and in Kaluapele, and lava flows within Halemaʻumaʻu.

Satellite image of Kilauea Military Camp near Kīlauea summit in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park taken on April 22, 2026, and showing tephra covering the ground and roofs. This area was affected by tephra deposition during lava fountaining episodes 43 (March 10, 2026) and 44 (April 9, 2026) at the summit of Kīlauea, in part due to wind conditions.