Images

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum, shown in this photo, sit atop the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The snow-capped summit of Mauna Loa, nearly 10,000 feet higher than Kīlauea, looms in the background.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum, shown in this photo, sit atop the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The snow-capped summit of Mauna Loa, nearly 10,000 feet higher than Kīlauea, looms in the background.

This image of a dusty plume produced by rocks collapsing from the wall of the eruptive vent within Kīlauea Volcano's Halema‘uma‘u Crater was captured by a USGS time-lapse camera on December 21, 2011. Vigorous spattering on the lava lake deep within the vent created the orange glow visible at the base of the plume.

Erupting vents on Mauna Loa's northeast rift zone near Pu‘u ‘Ula‘ula (Red Hill) on March 25, 1984, sent massive ‘A‘ā lava flows down the rift toward Kulani.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist conducts an interview at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in 2011.

At Kīlauea, when the lava column drops below the water table, groundwater may come into contact with with magma or hot rocks, causing violent steam explosions.

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.

Gas emissions from the crater of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on Kīlauea's east rift zone (foreground) and the summit vent in Halema‘uma‘uCrater (background, just below the clouds) create volcanic pollution that affects the air quality of downwind communities. USGS photo by Tim Orr.

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 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.