Volcano Watch

Strolling the desolate Mo`omomi Beach of Moloka`i's north shore some 30 years ago, a woman came upon what appeared to be the remains of a turkey...

Geologists everywhere like to study rocks in the field, but few of them get to map rocks that are still molten and on the move. Here in Hawai`i, we...

This Thursday, January 13, marks the 40th anniversary of the Kapoho eruption, the sequel to the Kīlauea Iki eruption in November-December 1959. It was...

Tomorrow, January 3, marks the 17th anniversary of the ongoing Pu`u `O`o - Kupaianaha eruption. Some readers are too young to remember the eruption in...

The staff and associates of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Kīlauea Field Station extend a warm and cheerful holiday...

An employee of the Hilo Hawaiian hotel recently called the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and asked about the origin of Coconut...

Last week's heavy rains on the Big Island brought an end to one of the worst seasons for yellowjacket wasps around Mauna Loa in more than a decade.
 

The heavy rain that East Hawai`i experienced this week, particularly on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, suggested the topic for this week's...

The Saddle Road to Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) might seem noticeably more worn this month.

Here's a question for you trivia aficionados. Since written records began in 1823, what is the longest period of time without an eruption in Kīlauea's...

Kīlauea's south slope presents a spectacular drive by motorcar because the highway descends steeply to reach the coastal plain.

In 1916, Thomas Jaggar, renowned scientist and founder of HVO, wrote, in a foreword to "Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes" by Westervelt, that "Everything...

Many visitors come to the summit of Kīlauea, take a quick look into the caldera, say, "Hmmm, that's nice," shrug their shoulders, and move on. All...

For the past two months, reports of large earthquakes and the havoc they cause seem to be constantly in the news. Earthquakes in Turkey, Taiwan...

At the end of their shield-building stage, the summits of Hawaiian volcanoes commonly have large collapsed areas called calderas. Both Kīlauea and...

For the past two weeks, people have been asking, "Why isn't the eruption going at full speed?," and "Why isn't lava going into the ocean?"
 

The last two editions of this column have dealt with the intrusion of magma into the upper east rift zone of Kīlauea on September 12 and with the...

One of the ways we monitor Kīlauea's activity is by studying the release of volcanic gases. Gases like sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide are trapped...

Lava and lightning occasionally ignite fires in Hawaiian forests and shrublands where grass or other fine plant fuels are abundant and when the...

In our efforts to refine the geologic map of Haleakalā, we recently obtained radiocarbon ages from the youngest lava flows, those at La Perouse Bay...