Videos

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight on the morning of Friday, December 27, 2024, of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Glowing red lava fountains are continuing to erupt at Kīlauea summit this Christmas Eve. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitored the eruption from the caldera rim, measuring the lava fountain heights at approximately 75 meters (246 feet) during an afternoon monitoring fieldshift.

The B2cam captures a live view of Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the east rim and down-dropped block, looking west across Kīlauea summit caldera. On December 23, 2024, it captured the start of another Kīlauea summit eruption. Images taken by the webcam were compiled into this timelapse video that shows lava fountains feeding lava flows across the caldera floor.

This video, taken from the west rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera), in the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shows the new eruption that started this morning at 2:20 a.m. HST. At approximately 4:30 a.m.

This aerial video, captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight at approximately 2:30 p.m. HST, shows lava fountaining in the southwest part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera). The eruption began today, December 23, 2024, and covered approximately 650 acres of the caldera floor with lava. USGS video by M. Patrick. 

The V1cam provides a live view of Kīlauea caldera down-dropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the northwest rim of the caldera. It captured the Kīlauea summit eruption start on December 23, 2024, and images are compiled into a timelapse sequence here.

Landsat satellites capture images of the Earth’s surface. While the sensors aboard Landsat capture a wide range of scientifically useful wavelengths, this collection reveals natural color imagery in the red, green and blue parts of the visible spectrum, as if viewed by the naked eye from 438 miles above the surface.

The hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin stole all the headlines. But did you know there was a smaller hydrothermal explosion in Norris Geyser Basin on April 15, 2024? That explosion was detected by a new infrasound sensor installed this past September. Watch to learn more.

Creating a binational sponge city in the desert: Flooding in the binational cities at Ambos Nogales on the Arizona-Sonora portion of the US-Mexico border has caused damage, ruined livelihoods and taken lives for hundreds of years.

Obsidian: It’s not just a valuable commodity in Minecraft. Obsidian was an important resource for Indigenous peoples across western North America. Learn more in this month's update.

The Klamath River, flowing from the high desert interior of Oregon and through the redwood forests of California, once produced large runs of salmon and trout. However, the construction of hydroelectric dams, beginning in 1918, blocked fish migration, encroached on Indigenous culture, and impacted water quality.

On a scorching day in June 2022, the summer Lake Powell reached its lowest water level in five decades, National Park Service staff caught baby smallmouth bass in the lower Colorado River.

Did you feel that? 

The annual Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill is coming on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at 10:17 a.m. (local time, wherever you are). We never know where or when an earthquake may happen, but preparing is easier than assembling a piece of Scandinavian furniture. 

Don’t believe us? Take a look at this step-by-step guide. 

Let’s get you caught up on what we’ve learned about the July 23, 2024, hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin, in this Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update for October 2024. 

Read Caldera Chronicles

On September 19, 2024, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists landed near the Kīlauea middle East Rift Zone eruption site, where they viewed lava flowing through a channel more than 50 meters (about 164 feet) wide. 

On the night of September 15, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysical data indicated that an eruption could be occurring a remote area of Kīlauea’s middle East Rift Zone, within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field monitoring crews captured these videos during their visit to Kīlauea middle East Rift Zone eruption site the morning of September 20, 2024. They reported minor spattering and small fountains at one end of the vent at 8:30 a.m. HST. By 10 a.m.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted a reconnaissance overflight of the eruption near Nāpau Crater on the middle East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. They observed lava cascading over the rim of the crater from a channel more than 50 meters (about 164 feet) wide.

On September 19, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists were able to capture this video of the fissure vent eruption west of Nāpau Crater on the middle East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. They observed a 150-m-long (nearly 500 feet) fissure west of the crater erupting lava in a curtain of lava 10-20 meters (33-66 feet) high. 

Kīlauea volcano is erupting in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park from a new fissure vent that opened within Nāpau Crater this morning, September 17, between 4:00 and 5:00 AM HST.  The eruption is occurring within a closed and remote area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists collected a sample of the middle East Rift Zone Kīlauea eruption in Nāpau Crater, within a closed area Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Geologists put molten lava into a metal bucket and rapidly quench it with water.