Images

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption. The areas covered during distinct eruptive phases are shown in unique colors and labeled with the years in which those flows were active.

A new fissure eruption in September 2011 on the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on Kīlauea Volcano's east rift zone reminds us of the need to be aware of our ever-changing volcanic environment on Hawai‘i Island. The fissure—the source of the lava flow—is shown in this image. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone and crater are in the background. Aerial view is to the southwest.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ship Rainier is backdropped by Mount Baker, an active Cascade Range stratovolcano, in Washington. In September 2019, the Rainier conducted a bathymetric survey along Hawai‘i Island's Puna coast, where lava entered the ocean during Kīlauea Volcano's 2018 eruption. 

Dr. Jim Kauahikaua explains the Geologic Map of the Island of Hawaiʻi at a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory outreach event in 2011. USGS photo. 

Photo of vigorous boiling of the lava surface in Kīlauea's summit vent following vent wall and rim collapses earlier in the day. The rim of the vent on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u is about 150 m (yards) across. The lava surface is about 100 m (yards) below the rim.

View looking downslope at the various cones that dot Mauna Loa's Northeast Rift Zone. The edge of North Pit, on the north side of Moku‘āweoweo, is in the foreground.

Aerial view of Mauna Loa's upper northeast rift zone near the area where it intersects Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera. Pāhoehoe flows visible in the foreground were erupted in 1942. Distant steep cliffs (right background) are the west wall of the summit caldera.

This view of Mauna Loa's summit is looking toward the northeast. The east flank of Mauna Kea is to the left, and North Pit, on the northeast end of Moku‘āweoweo, is straight ahead.

A view of Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, as seen from South Pit (looking to the north-northwest). An eruption in 1940 created the cinder-and-spatter cone visible on the caldera floor (right center). This cone, which is about 114 m (373 feet) high, is the largest cone at Mauna Loa's summit.

An aerial view of the 1940 cinder-and-spatter cone on the floor of Mauna Loa's summit caldera as seen from the southeast. The west wall of the caldera (background) is about 170 m (560 feet) high. Most of the caldera floor around the cone is covered by lava flows erupted in 1984.

View from just below the summit of Mauna Loa looking back down the Southwest Rift. The Sulfur Cone is the white area just above center frame. Pu‘u o Keokeo is the barely visible bump just above Sulfur Cone at the crest of the Southwest Rift.

View from above Mauna Loa's upper Northeast Rift Zone looking across an unnamed cone toward Mauna Kea.

A close-up view of the 1984 fissure that cut through the southwest side of Mauna Loa's 1940 vent cone. The crack on the right side of the cone is the 1984 fissure.

View looking up Mauna Loa's spectacular Southwest Rift Zone. Pu‘u o Keokeo fills the lower half of the photo. The black lava beyond is mostly from 1916 and 1926. The summit of Mauna Loa is in the background.

Shield-volcano Mauna Kea viewed from the northern slope of Mauna Loa (cinder cones in the foreground) shows off its broad shield shape. The bumps on its profile are large cinder cones.

The high point of Mauna Loa, in the background at an elevation of about 13,679 ft, is actually just the highest point along the rim of the steep cliffs that surround Mauna Loa's summit caldera, Moku‘āweoweo, Dark-colored lava flows of recent vintage (1984) cover the floor of Moku‘āweoweo. View is looking southwest.

This view of Mauna Loa's 1940 vent cone, looking to the southwest, shows a fissure that bisected it during the 1984 eruption (crack on the right side of the cone). Pāhoehoe flows and spatter erupted from the 1984 fissure blanket the caldera floor northwest of the cone (foreground).

This aerial view of Mauna Loa's summit shows the cinder-cone and lava flows that were erupted in 1949. The crack extending down the left side of the cone is the northeast-southwest trending 1984 fissure that bisected the southwest flank of the cone during the initial phase of the eruption. Light-brown tephra erupted from the 1949 cone thins to the west.