Volcano Watch

The Pacific is home to dozens of active volcanic systems including the massive Hawaiian shield volcanoes Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Most basaltic shield...

Most residents of the Island of Hawaiʻi live on one of four potentially active volcanoes and probably have wondered about the threat of lava flows at...

Large quantities of volcanic gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), are released into the atmosphere...

We know that when a volcano erupts, molten red rock makes it to the surface, while during an intrusion it doesn’t. The difference between the two...

Late Monday afternoon, earthquake activity picked up at Kīlauea’s summit.  At about 1:30 a.m. HST on Tuesday, that activity intensified, and it became...

The 2018 lower East Rift Zone and 35-year-long Puʻuʻōʻō eruptions of Kīlauea had large impacts on the Puna District. Many residents were deeply...

More people were probably killed by the 1790 eruption of Kīlauea than by any other eruption in what is now the United States. Several hundred men...

Geologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) had their mobile phones buzzing this past week with automated alert messages, notifying them...

This week marks the second anniversary of the appearance of water in Kīlauea’s Halema‘uma‘u crater, so it seems timely to discuss the water lake’s...

Many people living in the Hawaiian Islands are accustomed to feeling occasional earthquakes since the State of Hawaii is one of the most seismically...

The most recent page in Mauna Loa’s eruptive history was written in 1984. The eruption began in March of 1984, about a decade after the 1975 summit...

Mauna Loa erupted forty-six years ago this week, on July 5–6, 1975, in a 20-hour event with vents confined to the summit region (the area above 3,660...

Happy Canada Day/Bonne Fête du Canada! While some past "Volcano Watch" articles have had a July 4th theme for the USA, this year we’re taking the...

The journey from volcanic repose to a climactic eruption is like a mystery movie that keeps you at the edge of your seat. The story is filled with...

The night sky over Kīlauea summit lit up with the glow of lava Sunday, December 20th, 2020. Deep in the caldera, the gathered lake water was boiled by...

Geodetic surveys measure the change in shape of our volcanoes due to changes in magma supply and storage. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)...

Kīlauea’s recent volcano alert-level change, from Watch to Advisory, has attracted some attention.  

The Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake celebrated its 5-month anniversary by doing what we all like to do on our special day, taking a break. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes...

Many people in Kaʻū have noticed the swarm of earthquakes taking place during the past few years. These earthquakes are happening in a zone that is 29...

Kīlauea’s summit lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu is approaching its five-month anniversary on Thursday, May 20, while the water lake that occupied the...