Volcano Watch

Tephra formed by lava fountains during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption has created a new puʻu (hill) southwest of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The new...

The 1975 Kalapana earthquake brought big changes to lives of the people affected by the fatalities and damage, as well as big changes to our...

Fifty years ago this month, the largest Hawaii earthquake of the 20th and 21st centuries occurred. Earthquake shaking, as well as ground subsidence...

The summit eruption of Kīlauea continues, with 36 episodes of lava fountaining since the eruption began on December 23, 2024. Let’s catch up on the...

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) monitors volcanic activity across the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa, helping to ensure public safety...

American Samoa is a United States territory which comprises the easternmost islands of a volcanic island chain formed by the Samoan hotspot in the...

Born and raised in Hilo, I grew up hiking in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, fishing in Ka'ū, and stargazing on Mauna Kea. I knew then that the Big...

Dick Fiske, who died on June 18 as he neared his 93rd birthday, was one of the most original thinkers ever at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory...

Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption transformed the lower Puna District of the Island of Hawaiʻi, including its coastline, where 875 acres of new land were added...

The past eight months have provided the Island of Hawaiʻi with spectacles of lava fountains at Kīlauea’s summit. These historic episodes began on...

When most people think of erupting water, they probably have geysers, like Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, in mind. However, Kīlauea...

As part of a growing national effort to understand seafloor hazards, scientists from the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Volcano Science...

Earthquakes and tsunamis in the news over the past few days are a reminder that we live on a dynamic planet with different hazards and associated...

If you’ve read “Volcano Watch” articles before, you can probably list several reasons that scientists study volcanoes. However, there is another...

Lava fountains at the summit of Kīlauea have been shining a spotlight on Hawaii’s most active volcano but let us not forget the larger one looming in...

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) maintains a network of nearly 150 monitoring instruments on Kīlauea, which track activity above and below...

If you’ve been following the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea, you may have seen the terms "gas piston" or "gas pistoning" show up in some of the USGS...

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...

As another school year ends, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) welcomes two new summer interns: Kamalani Poepoe and Ruth Gale. With an...

There is much to appreciate about the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption as it approaches its 6-month anniversary on June 23. The stunning episodic lava...