Volcano Watch

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...

Recently, something has been observed “dancing” above the active eruptive vents inside Halemaʻumaʻu…Hydrogen flames! Let’s take a look into what...

Episode 23 of Kīlauea's ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu occurred on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Record-setting lava fountain and plume heights were...

Witnessing a volcanic eruption is, for many, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park welcomes well over a million visitors...

Halemaʻumaʻu has been progressively filled by six eruptions at the summit of Kīlauea since 2020, and it continues to accumulate new lava with each...

On December 23, 2024, eruptive activity at Kīlauea’s summit began again with the first in what has become 20 discrete lava fountaining episodes. Many...

April is a month that carries deep layers of meaning on the Island of Hawaiʻi. April is the cherished time of the Merrie Monarch Festival—a week-long...

As people from around the world are captivated by episodic lava fountaining during the ongoing Kīlauea eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu, let’s use the current...