Kīlauea Ends the Year With a New Summit Eruption

Early this morning, the USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory reported that a new eruption started in the summit caldera at Kīlauea in Hawai'i. After a brief swarm of earthquakes, a series of fissures opened in the floor of the Halema'uma'u caldera, producing lava fountains and flows that have now crept along the caldera floor. This is only the third eruption at Kīlauea this year after the fall's small eruption in the East Rift zone near Napau Crater and June's brief eruption in the Southwest Rift Zone. It is also the first activity at the summit caldera since September 2023.