Videos

Aerial video of the Southwest Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea, viewed during an overflight at approximately 6 a.m. on June 3, 2024. USGS video.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the fissure that formed on the upper Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano early this morning, June 3, 2024. Elevated gas emissions are being carried downwind, in a southwest direction. USGS video.

During an overflight at approximately 6 a.m., USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists observed the fissures system that opened on the upper portion of the Southwest Rift Zone early this morning. Approximately half a mile (about 1 km) in length, only the southwest portion of the system was active by daylight. 

This two-minute video summarizes the 1924 explosive eruption at the summit of Kīlauea, which occurred 100 years ago this year. The video is narrated by Thomas Jaggar, who founded the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1912. His description of the 1924 eruption was recorded in 1951 by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. 

This video summarizes changes to the summit Kīlauea volcano since the 2018 caldera collapse. In the year after the 2018 collapse, a water lake began to rise from the bottom. It evaporated during about 90 minutes when an eruption started in Halemaʻumaʻu crater on the night of December 20, 2020.

This video shows earthquake activity recorded by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at Kīlauea summit, extending southwest, from January 26-February 2, 2024, in 12-hour snapshots. 

Six Eruptions at Two Volcanoes Over the Past Three Years

How the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitors some of Earth’s most active volcanoes

by Katie Mulliken, Geologist, Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i and USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

This is a video compilation of Kīlauea volcano's summit eruption in September 2023. The video shows clips of the eruptive vents and lava fountains as the eruption progressed from September 10-16, 2023. 

Eruptive activity was shutting down at Kīlauea summit on Saturday, September 16, with only weak spattering at one vent in the morning. By midday, the eruptive activity had effectively ended.

This video was taken during an eruption-monitoring overflight on September 15, 2023. The eruption at the summit of Kīlauea continues, though with reduced vigor and a shrinking area of active lava. Over the past day one of the major vents shut down, leaving just two main vents active.

Several vents continued to erupt on the western side of the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera on September 6, 2023.  The roughly east-west trending active vents span approximately 0.5 miles (750 m) and had lava fountain heights of up to about 10 meters (32 feet).

During an HVO eruption monitoring overflight on September 12, 2023, HVO geologists landed on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera and searched for a safe place to collect a lava sample.

During the morning of September 11, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight of the new eruption within the Kīlauea summit caldera. The eruption is occurring in the east portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and on the downdropped block to the east, which formed during the 2018 summit collapse.

During an HVO eruption monitoring overflight on September 11, 2023, HVO geologist were able to land on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera. They observed the line of erupting vents, several of which are visible in this video, as they searched for a safe location to collect a lava sample.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano continues. Numerous fountains remain active on the downdropped block east of Halema‘uma‘u crater, with lava pouring west onto the crater floor.

The B1cam, located on the east margin of the down-dropped block within Kīlauea caldera, captured the start of another eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano that began at 3:13 p.m. on September 10, 2023. This video shows a lava fountain bursting from a degassing area in the eastern portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, with the downdropped block in the foreground.

This video, captured the evening of September 10, 2023, from near the Uēkahuna overlook within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, shows the new eruption within Kīlauea caldera. After approximately an hour of elevated earthquake and ground deformation, the eruption began at 3:13 p.m. on September 10, 2023.

Another eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano began at 3:13 p.m. on September 10, 2023. This video, captured by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's B2cam on the east rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, shows the opening phase of the eruption. A lava fountain bursts from a degassing area in the eastern portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

This timelapse video shows the first two days of the recent eruption at Kīlauea summit, which was active September 10 to 16, 2023. Over this initial period, the fountaining at either end of the fissure system gradually shuts down as activity focuses on the central portion. 

During a monitoring overflight of the Kīlauea summit on June 22, 2023, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists briefly stopped on the Halema‘uma‘u crater floor to collect a lava sample. Afterward, they departed via helicopter with a low-angle view of the recent eruption area from the east.

This video was captured from the western rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on June 18, 2023. The video shows fountaining at the southwest wall eruptive vent, and lava pouring into a channel at the base of the spatter cone to spread onto the crater floor.