#tephra

A look further back in the geologic record reveals that several lava fountaining eruptions similar to the ongoing one in Halemaʻumaʻu occurred within Kīlauea caldera within the past 500 years.

Episode 44 of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption at Halemaʻumaʻu began at 11:10 a.m. today, April 9, with lava fountaining at the summit caldera.

A fountaining eruption at Kīlauea’s caldera is projected between April 6 to April 14, potentially impacting residents and visitors with ash and tephra.

Geochemical analysis of erupted tephra samples over the past decade help scientists understand the temperature of Kīlauea’s shallow magma system under the summit—and things have been “heating up.”

The summit region of Kīlauea experienced tephra fallout and a Kona low storm this past week. Cleanup, recovery, and regrowth is ongoing. These processes are natural and have been recognized and embodied in Native Hawaiian oral traditions about Pele, Lono, and Hiʻiaka.

Episode 42 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended at  11:38 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2026, and the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is currently paused.

Like the “Did You Feel It?” earthquake reporting tool helps make maps of areas affected by shaking, the new tool helps scientists map areas affected by tephra fallout; observations will be used to assess the character and size of the eruption plumes from Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, along with the dispersal pattern of tephra fall.

Large lava fountains streamed from both the north and south vents reaching heights of at least 1475 feet during episode 41 of Kīlauea’s summit eruption on Jan. 24, 2026.  Strong updrafts coupled with light winds blowing to the east and north sent lava fragments from the fountains, called tephra, over much of the District of Puna and into South Hilo and the eastern edge of Kaʻū.

On the one-year anniversary of Kīlauea’s rare episodic eruption, viewers watching the live feed at the summit were shocked to see two men walk in front of the camera that is in a restricted area.

Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, in collaboration with the US Geological Survey, have installed a new livestream monitoring camera at Kīlauea on the Big Island.

The V3cam on the south rim of Kīlauea was buried under 50 feet of tephra, abruptly ending its livestream.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has been busy tracking the continued growth of this young geologic feature, which is visible from public viewing areas around the summit within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The spectacular series of Kīlauea eruption episodes over the past six months has been remarkably safe for public viewing, but a simple change in the wind or brief vent collapse could cause dramatic changes in the hazards the volcano presents.

Record-setting lava fountain and plume heights were reached during Episode 23 of the Kīlauea summit caldera eruption. Given increasing airborne hazards associated with each new eruptive episode, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is changing its episode notification types.

Lava fountains reach more than 1,000 feet, volcanic plume soars at least 5,000 feet before most recent phase of eruptive activity — that teased for several days — abruptly ends after just 6 hours and 10 minutes Sunday night.