Volcano Watch

After the series of explosions at Halema`uma`u Crater, the overlook area appeared to be a stark, boulder-strewn field completely devoid of life.

Recent activity at Kīlauea's summit caused HVO scientists to hit the books, because such behavior hasn't been previously documented.

Many visitors to the HVO website have asked about the white structures visible in the photos of lava flowing across the coastal plain and into the...

Unusual, tantalizing, mesmerizing. Adrenaline-spiking, mid-life crisis(?). These words have been used in our recent Volcano Watch reports as we...

A human lifespan is but a blink of an eye compared to Kīlauea's 300,000-600,000 years of existence.

It was a busy week atop our favorite volcano as Halema`uma`u continued to emit a towering white plume of gas and ash that was visible for miles around...

Hundreds of visitors are driving to Kalapana each day to see the ocean entries of Kīlauea's east-rift lava flows. As these visitors watch the flows...

Last week's "Volcano Watch" detailed the development of the new gas vent - and small explosive eruption - on the south wall of Halema`uma`u Crater.

2008 will be known as the year that Kīlauea Volcano had a mid-life crisis. After 25 years of almost continuous, effusive eruption from its east rift...

Last week was a family reunion of sorts, as Pele met her sister, Namakaokaha`i, when lava from Kīlauea Volcano entered the ocean for the first time...

Now that lava flows have reached the ocean below Royal Gardens subdivision, the concern 7 months ago of lava pouring northeast from a new vent toward...

After a few brief forays into the upper reaches of the Royal Gardens subdivision over the last several weeks, the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) flow...

When the crust of the earth is subjected to great forces, such as the weight of the Hawaiian Islands or the forceful intrusion of magma, it can bend...

Oftentimes, in videos of Hawaiian eruptions, you may see people near the vent or the lava rivers sampling the molten rock. This can be dangerous work...

While most island residents were understandably concerned about our week of intense rain, HVO staff continued to monitor Kīlauea Volcano's eruption.

In early June 1980, high on the south flank of Mount St. Helens, two geochemists hastily installed state-of-the-art equipment to monitor magmatic gas...

Until last November, the current eruption was characterized by a perched lava channel. The fissure system that opened up just east of Pu`u `O`o on...

Royal Gardens subdivision was back in the news again this past week as a lava flow from the July 21 fissure advanced to within 300 m (985 ft) of the...

The Father's Day eruption last June occurred in the most frequently active segment of Kīlauea's east rift zone. What is this segment, and why are...

As we greet our new year at the U S Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), we take a look back at the Kīholo Bay earthquakes.