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USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) geologists on a routine Kīlauea summit monitoring helicopter overflight on Thursday, February 26, collected visual and thermal images to map out the changes on the crater floor following episode 42 lava fountaining at Kīlauea summit that took place on February 15, 2026.

The KWcam is located on the northwest rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The camera is one of many located around the Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, that aid in monitoring conditions. This timelapse video was created using images captured by the KWcam on February 15, 2026, during episode 42 of lava fountaining. Around 4:20 p.m.

Timelapse video showing tephra cover to cleanup in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Lava fountains during episode 41 of the Kīlauea summit eruption on January 24, 2026, covered the Uēkahuna overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park with tephra fallout. The next morning, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park staff clean the tephra from the area.

This timelapse video shows Kīlauea summit eruption episode 41 on January 24, 2026, captured by a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory research camera on the south rim of the caldera. Both the north and south vents erupted,and the black material in the foreground is falling tephra. USGS video.

Kīlauea began its 39th lava fountaining episode the night of December 23, one year to the day from when this eruption began. This view was taken from the publicly accessible viewing area on Crater Rim Drive near Keanakākoi Overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

On December 9, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an aerial overflight of Kīlauea summit region, following lava fountaining episode 38 of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption on December 6. In this video, the line on the ground in the lower left portion at the start of the video shows the extent of tephra deposits created during episode 38.