Volcano Watch

The terrible tragedy in Nicaragua and Honduras from Hurricane Mitch's extraordinary rainfall was made worse by a volcano. The volcano didn't erupt...

Every day, tourists and locals visit Kolekole stream to see 70 cubic meters of water per second (18,000 gallons per minute or gpm) cascade 135 m (442...

Early Sunday morning shoppers at the Volcano farmers market can purchase delicious greenhouse tomatoes grown in Mountain View. In a cool mauka (inland...

The major part of each Hawaiian volcano lies below sea level, which creates a logistical nightmare: How does one study the submarine slopes?

Scientists know more about the history and inner dynamics of Kīlauea than they do about most other volcanoes in the world. Yet a major portion of the...

A 1,262-m-deep (4,139-ft-deep) research hole was drilled in the southwest corner of Kīlauea's caldera in 1973. At the time, this was the deepest hole...

Kīlauea Volcano's summit has been slowly subsiding since 1983, the year that the ongoing Pu`u O`o-Kupaianaha eruption started. This broad and gentle...

With this article, "Volcano Watch" broadens its scope to include items of biological interest related to Hawai`i volcanoes. Once every two months, the...

Rapid landscape changes take place during Kīlauea's east rift zone eruption. Visitors to the coastal plain six months ago could have watched lava...

The Chain of Craters marks the location of Kīlauea's upper east rift zone. The chain reaches southeastward from the summit caldera and then gradually...

You hear a low rumbling sound; the walls of your house shake a little; objects on the shelves skip around, maybe even fall off the shelf. Was that an...

Groups of students of all ages frequently visit the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory while they are on an excursion to Hawaii...

Geology is an inexact science, and sometimes studying volcanoes seems like a game of chance. This is particularly true for those who study the way...

In 1790 a group of Hawaiian warriors in the Ka`u Desert was killed by an eruption of hot gas and flying rocks that originated from Kīlauea caldera...

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is to monitor the volcanoes of Hawai`i, to study the geological...

Although the study of volcanoes is, in itself, fascinating and is more than a full-time job, volcanologists also work closely with researchers in...

In a recent national television program on tsunami, attention was focused on the Great Crack in the southwest rift zone of Kīlauea. The size of the...

When lava enters the sea, it begins a struggle to build new land. We name these entries for nearby geographic features—Lae`apuki, Kamoamoa, Kamokuna...

It has been more than 18 years since Mount St. Helens had its powerful eruption, almost 12 years since its latest quiet dome-building eruption, and 8...

Discussions of volcanic air pollution from Kīlauea frequently start out with a conversation about the large amount of sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) that...