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Volcano Watch

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. 

Filter Total Items: 1763
Volcano Watch — Lava flows from two Pu‘u ‘O‘o vents

Volcano Watch — Lava flows from two Pu‘u ‘O‘o vents

The eruption on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone continued through the week. Two vents were active, both located on the flanks of the 770-foot-high Pu`u `O`o...

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Volcano Watch — Ten-year-long eruption resumes after short lull

Volcano Watch — Ten-year-long eruption resumes after short lull

The 10-year-long eruption at Kīlauea Volcano started up again during the morning of February 16, after a period of inactivity lasting about 10 days...

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Volcano Watch — Pu`u `O`o eruption is volcano's 50th episode

Volcano Watch — Pu`u `O`o eruption is volcano's 50th episode

On Monday, Feb. 17, at about 7:30 p.m., lava began erupting from a fissure on the southwest flank of Pu`u `O`o.

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Volcano Watch — Steamer passenger recorded unusual eruption

Volcano Watch — Steamer passenger recorded unusual eruption

In February 1877, an unusual eruption occurred on Mauna Loa Volcano. Part of the eruption was submarine, and the eruptive fissure was neither at the...

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Volcano Watch — Volcano rattles at 400 quakes an hour

Volcano Watch — Volcano rattles at 400 quakes an hour

An intense earthquake swarm occurred beneath the upper to middle East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano starting at 11:36 p.m. on Sunday, February 7. At...

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Volcano Watch — Recent earthquake activity recalls Kapoho eruption

Volcano Watch — Recent earthquake activity recalls Kapoho eruption

Earthquake activity this past week was considerably reduced from the high levels recorded the previous week. Three earthquakes occurred that had...

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Volcano Watch — Most active seismic zone in the nation here

Volcano Watch — Most active seismic zone in the nation here

Nearly everyone on the island of Hawai`i should have felt an earthquake this past week. As the accompanying map shows, Hawai`i was rattled by 11...

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Volcano Watch — Episode 51 continuing

Volcano Watch — Episode 51 continuing

The eruption from the episode 51 vents, located on the west flank of the Pu`u `O`o cone on the East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano, continues with...

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Volcano Watch — Galeras, Mauna Loa, Decade Volcanoes

Volcano Watch — Galeras, Mauna Loa, Decade Volcanoes

On Thursday an explosion in the crater of Galeras Volcano in Colombia killed six volcanologists attending an international workshop attended by more...

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Volcano Watch — Kīlauea: a youngster among world's active volcanoes

Volcano Watch — Kīlauea: a youngster among world's active volcanoes

One of the main impediments to predicting the future behavior of Kīlauea and especially Mauna Loa Volcanoes is the short historical record of each...

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Volcano Watch — A volcano that just keeps rolling along: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory tracks eruption's phases

Volcano Watch — A volcano that just keeps rolling along: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory tracks eruption's phases

The Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption now ranks as the longest-lived historic eruption on the East Rift Zone and the most destructive in Kīlauea's recent...

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Volcano Watch — Underwater East Rift exploration reveals a few surprises

Volcano Watch — Underwater East Rift exploration reveals a few surprises

The East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano is 130 kilometers long, but only 55 kilometers of the rift is above sea level. The lower 75 kilometers of the...

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Volcano Watch — Rockfalls alter size and shape of Halema`uma`u Crater

Volcano Watch — Rockfalls alter size and shape of Halema`uma`u Crater

For the past 10 years, most of the evident changes on Kīlauea Volcano have occurred down the east rift zone near and downslope from the Pu`u `O`o and...

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Volcano Watch — Lava explodes into the sea at Kamoamoa

Volcano Watch — Lava explodes into the sea at Kamoamoa

Lava erupted from the episode 51 vents has been entering the sea at Kamoamoa since November 8. On Tuesday, a new phenomenon was observed. 

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Volcano Watch — Lava continues to flow near Kamoamoa

Volcano Watch — Lava continues to flow near Kamoamoa

The eruption from the episode 51 vents has continued without interruption since October 2. The flows crossed the Chain of Craters Road near Kamoamoa...

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Volcano Watch — Volcano watchers should beware

Volcano Watch — Volcano watchers should beware

The eruption from the episode 51 vents has continued without interruption since October 2. The flows have now advanced to within 300 feet of the Chain...

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Volcano Watch — Ten-year lava flow from Kīlauea's episode 51 continues

Volcano Watch — Ten-year lava flow from Kīlauea's episode 51 continues

The 10-year long eruption of Kīlauea Volcano continues from the episode 51 vents located on the west flank of the Pu`u `O`o cone. The flows advanced...

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Volcano Watch — HVO making long-range forecasts

Volcano Watch — HVO making long-range forecasts

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory studies mainly the current activity of Hawai`i's volcanoes, and our eruption forecasts are limited to the short-term...

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Volcano Watch — Quake starts Kīlauea off on a busy two weeks

Volcano Watch — Quake starts Kīlauea off on a busy two weeks

The last two weeks have been particularly busy on Kīlauea Volcano. On October 2, starting about 3:30 p.m., the tremor near Pu`u `O`o began to increase...

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Volcano Watch — Next Mauna Loa eruption likely at summit

Volcano Watch — Next Mauna Loa eruption likely at summit

Over the years, scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have developed good techniques for short-term eruption predictions (a few hours to a...

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Volcano Watch — New map defines lava flow hazard zones on the Big Island

Volcano Watch — New map defines lava flow hazard zones on the Big Island

The U.S Geological Survey has recently published a new, full-sized map which defines the boundaries of nine lava flow hazard zones on the island. This...

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