Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Images

Images related to natural hazards.

Filter Total Items: 7266
Beautiful morning at the summit of Kīlauea...
Beautiful morning at the summit of Kīlauea
Beautiful morning at the summit of Kīlauea
Beautiful morning at the summit of Kīlauea

Kīlauea Volcano's lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater rose steadily over the past day in concert with summit inflation. This morning, with the lake level at just 19 m (62 ft) below the summit vent rim, vigorous spattering on the lake surface was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Kīlauea Volcano's lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater rose steadily over the past day in concert with summit inflation. This morning, with the lake level at just 19 m (62 ft) below the summit vent rim, vigorous spattering on the lake surface was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

An HVO volunteer uses a stereoscopic microscope to sort the various...
An HVO volunteer uses a stereoscopic microscope to sort the various...
An HVO volunteer uses a stereoscopic microscope to sort the various...
An HVO volunteer uses a stereoscopic microscope to sort the various...

An HVO volunteer uses a stereoscopic microscope to sort the various components of a deposit from a Kīlauea Volcano eruption.

View from the sky looking down along a coastline with a silty river mouth protruding into the ocean with gentle waves at beach.
Elwha River mouth in September 2016
Elwha River mouth in September 2016
Elwha River mouth in September 2016

Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River showing sediment deposits from dam removal. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Milton Bennett.

Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River showing sediment deposits from dam removal. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Milton Bennett.

A U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technician, uses an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter to measure stream flow on a Florida creek.
Measuring streamflow
Measuring streamflow
Measuring streamflow

Neil Yobbi, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technician, uses an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter to measure stream flow on Curlew Creek in Tampa, Florida. While Hurricane Hermine might have made landfall almost 200 miles away in St.

Neil Yobbi, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technician, uses an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter to measure stream flow on Curlew Creek in Tampa, Florida. While Hurricane Hermine might have made landfall almost 200 miles away in St.

Map of coastal flow field...
Map of coastal flow field
Map of coastal flow field
Map of coastal flow field

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field at the coast. The area of the active flow field as of August 19 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as mapped on September 1 is shown in red. The base is a Digital Globe image from January 2016.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field at the coast. The area of the active flow field as of August 19 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as mapped on September 1 is shown in red. The base is a Digital Globe image from January 2016.

View of the 61g flow field, from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (visible on top, left ho...
61g flow field, from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō to westernmost ocean entry
61g flow field, from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō to westernmost ocean entry
61g flow field, from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō to westernmost ocean entry

View of the 61g flow field, from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (visible on top, left horizon) to the westernmost ocean entry at the coast, where lava spills into the sea, creating a lava delta.

View of the 61g flow field, from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (visible on top, left horizon) to the westernmost ocean entry at the coast, where lava spills into the sea, creating a lava delta.

View of the lava pond within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō west pit crater, which i...
Lava pond within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō west pit crater
Lava pond within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō west pit crater
Lava pond within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō west pit crater

View of the lava pond within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō west pit crater, which is about 50 m (164 ft) across. Weak spattering on the lava pond surface, about 23 m (75 ft) below the crater rim, is visible through the thick volcanic gas cloud.

View of the lava pond within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō west pit crater, which is about 50 m (164 ft) across. Weak spattering on the lava pond surface, about 23 m (75 ft) below the crater rim, is visible through the thick volcanic gas cloud.

An aerial view of a new breakout (light-colored flow at center of i...
An a new breakout (light-colored flow at center of image) from the ...
An a new breakout (light-colored flow at center of image) from the ...
An a new breakout (light-colored flow at center of image) from the ...

An aerial view of a new breakout (light-colored flow at center of image) from the 61g tube. The breakout began with some vigor on the morning August 29, but today it was sluggish, with only a few scattered pāhoehoe toes still active on the margins of the flow.

An aerial view of a new breakout (light-colored flow at center of image) from the 61g tube. The breakout began with some vigor on the morning August 29, but today it was sluggish, with only a few scattered pāhoehoe toes still active on the margins of the flow.

Beached boats and bare trees in Hurricane Hole
Irma leaves beached boats and broken trees in Huricane Hole
Irma leaves beached boats and broken trees in Huricane Hole
Irma leaves beached boats and broken trees in Huricane Hole

Boat owners sought protection for their vessels in sheltered Hurricane Hole, but Hurricane Irma sunk and beached many boats, likely damaging corals. Photo: Caroline Rogers, USGS, 2017

A closer view of where lava is entering the sea along a 1.1-km- (0....
A closer view of where lava is entering the sea along a 1.1-km- (0....
A closer view of where lava is entering the sea along a 1.1-km- (0....
A closer view of where lava is entering the sea along a 1.1-km- (0....

A closer view of where lava is entering the sea along a 1.1-km- (0.7-mi-) wide section of the coastline. There is no evidence that high surf from Hurricane Madeline had any impact on the lava deltas that have formed, and continue to grow, at the ocean entries.

A closer view of where lava is entering the sea along a 1.1-km- (0.7-mi-) wide section of the coastline. There is no evidence that high surf from Hurricane Madeline had any impact on the lava deltas that have formed, and continue to grow, at the ocean entries.

Close-up view of one of the small toes of pāhoehoe still active on ...
Close-up view of one of the small toes of pāhoehoe still active on ...
Close-up view of one of the small toes of pāhoehoe still active on ...
Close-up view of one of the small toes of pāhoehoe still active on ...

Close-up view of one of the small toes of pāhoehoe still active on the new breakout from the 61g lava tube, which began on Monday, August 29.

Beautiful day on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone...
Beautiful day on Kīlauea's ERZ
Beautiful day on Kīlauea's ERZ
Beautiful day on Kīlauea's ERZ

Calm after the storm—a beautiful day on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. Rain from Hurricane Madeline had little impact on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, shown here, or lava flow 61g.

Calm after the storm—a beautiful day on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. Rain from Hurricane Madeline had little impact on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, shown here, or lava flow 61g.

Charcoal is good for more than the barbeque...
Charcoal is good for more than the barbeque
Charcoal is good for more than the barbeque
Charcoal is good for more than the barbeque

The dark-colored charcoal (left of rock hammer) from a log buried by lava was found at the base of an ‘A‘ā flow in the District of Ka‘ū on the Island of Hawai‘i. The age of this charcoal, determined by an accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon method, is 2075 plus or minus 36 years before present. USGS photo.

The dark-colored charcoal (left of rock hammer) from a log buried by lava was found at the base of an ‘A‘ā flow in the District of Ka‘ū on the Island of Hawai‘i. The age of this charcoal, determined by an accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon method, is 2075 plus or minus 36 years before present. USGS photo.

This video clip, filmed on August 12, 2016, shows a typical pāhoeho...
This video clip, filmed on Aug. 12, 2016, shows a typical pāhoehoe ...
This video clip, filmed on Aug. 12, 2016, shows a typical pāhoehoe ...
This video clip, filmed on Aug. 12, 2016, shows a typical pāhoehoe ...

This video clip, filmed on August 12, 2016, shows a typical pāhoehoe breakout on Kīlauea Volcano's "61g" lava flow (actual speed).

Kīlauea Volcano's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past...
Kīlauea's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past
Kīlauea's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past
Kīlauea's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past

"The whole Eastern Half of the lake is in a state of continuous activity with Old Faithful playing 10 to 20 feet every 35 to 45 seconds." J.M. Lydgate wrote these words and sketched this map of Halema‘uma‘u Crater in the Volcano House Register (a collection of hotel guest comments) in July 1909 to document his observations of Kīlauea Volcano.

"The whole Eastern Half of the lake is in a state of continuous activity with Old Faithful playing 10 to 20 feet every 35 to 45 seconds." J.M. Lydgate wrote these words and sketched this map of Halema‘uma‘u Crater in the Volcano House Register (a collection of hotel guest comments) in July 1909 to document his observations of Kīlauea Volcano.

Kīlauea Volcano's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past...
Kīlauea's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past
Kīlauea's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past
Kīlauea's "Old Faithful"—a thing of the past

This hand-tinted telephoto image of Kīlauea Volcano's "Old Faithful" lava fountain in Halema‘uma‘u Crater was taken by volcanologist Frank A. Perret on July 23, 1911. USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory photo archives.

This hand-tinted telephoto image of Kīlauea Volcano's "Old Faithful" lava fountain in Halema‘uma‘u Crater was taken by volcanologist Frank A. Perret on July 23, 1911. USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory photo archives.

Kīlauea lava flow buries more of the road...
Kīlauea lava flow buries more of the road
Kīlauea lava flow buries more of the road
Kīlauea lava flow buries more of the road

Kīlauea Volcano's active lava flow continues to bury more of the emergency access route (Chain of Craters Road) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Early this morning, slow-moving breakouts were oozing across the road on the west side of the flow.

Kīlauea Volcano's active lava flow continues to bury more of the emergency access route (Chain of Craters Road) in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Early this morning, slow-moving breakouts were oozing across the road on the west side of the flow.

Kīlauea Volcano's older "61g" lava flows have now inflated (left si...
Kīlauea's older "61g" lava flows have now inflated (left side of ph...
Kīlauea's older "61g" lava flows have now inflated (left side of ph...
Kīlauea's older "61g" lava flows have now inflated (left side of ph...

Kīlauea Volcano's older "61g" lava flows have now inflated (left side of photo), creating jagged terrain that rises as much as 3 m (10 ft) above the road. Today, new lava (right) was covering additional areas of the gravel road.

Kīlauea Volcano's older "61g" lava flows have now inflated (left side of photo), creating jagged terrain that rises as much as 3 m (10 ft) above the road. Today, new lava (right) was covering additional areas of the gravel road.

Was this page helpful?