Images

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the flow field on December 3 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow field as mapped on January 5 is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows erupted prior to June 27, 2014, are shown in gray.

Preview image for video: Around 2:17 p.m., HST, on January 2, a rockfall from the east rim of the Overlook vent within Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea impacted the lava lake, generating a small explosive event captured by HVO webcams. shows the rockfall as seen from HVO and Jaggar Museum.

In this photo of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, the light-colored rock in the vent wall to the left of the spattering lava shows were a rockfall occurred on January 2. The shadow of the gas plume appears as a brown streak perpendicular to the dark-colored lava on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

Preview image for video: shows the same rockfall as captured by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam perched on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater. Note the fragments of molten lava flying toward the camera—just one of the hazards that led to the closure of this area.

Fragments of molten lava were thrown on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater during the January 2 explosive event. This close-up shows the dust and small rock particles that adhered to the surface of these fragments as they were thrown upward through the ashy plume.

On January 4, a rockfall within the Overlook vent at the summit of Kīlauea generated another small explosive event at 3:18 a.m., HST. In this image, captured by a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam, the dusty gas plume can be seen rising from the vent after rocks impacted the lava lake.

Volcanic eruptions happen in the State of California about as frequently as the largest earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault Zone. At least 10 eruptions have taken place in California in the past 1,000 years—most recently at Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park (1914 to 1917) in the northern part of the State—and future volcanic eruptions are inevitable.

Geologic field-trip guide to Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity, California

CalVO's Stuart Wilkinson skis out to a remote seismic instrument in the Long Valley volcanic region to perform routine maintenance.

Eruptions between 1064 and 1067 AD produced three lava flows that covered 8 km² (3 mi²) and a field of scoria and spatter that covers 2300 km² (890 mi²). Archeological evidence shows that there were communities of people living in the area who were impacted by the eruption.

USGS scientists Kate Allstadt and Cynthia Gardner tell the story of the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and how the catastrophic landslide, lateral blast, and lahar changed the landscape.

Yellowstone subsurface cross-section schematic oriented SW-NE, depicts rise of magma beneath mantle plus heating and movement of mantle and crustal material. Credit Univ Utah. Click to enlarge.

The November 25, 2015, breakout that began as a rupture from the tube supplying the June 27th lava flow advanced slowly to the northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (background) and reached the forest in mid-December, but still poses no immediate threat to Puna communities. USGS image.

Map of the Heart Mountain slide block. From Mitchell et al., 2015 ("Catastrophic emplacement of giant landslides aided by thermal decomposition: Heart Mountain, Wyoming." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 411: 199-207), modified from Anders et al. (2010).

Newberry Volcano's youngest lava flows. Source: Robinson, J.E., Donnelly-Nolan, J.M., and Jensen, R.A., 2015, Newberry Volcano’s Youngest Lava Flows: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3329, 1 sheet, https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3329.

(Left) Sample of the Pitchstone Plateau rhyolite flow, which erupted about 72,000 years ago, making it is the youngest rhyolite at Yellowstone. The blocky white crystals in this sample are the mineral sanidine, whereas the rounded crystals are quartz.

The sun angle was ideal this morning to show the complex texture on the surface of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at Kīlauea's summit. Spattering was active in the southeast portion of the lake. For scale, the lake is about 230 meters or 755 feet across.

This map overlays a georeferenced thermal image mosaic onto a map of the flow field near Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō; to show the distribution of active and recently active breakouts. The thermal images were collected during a helicopter overflight on December 30. The June 27th flow is outlined in green to highlight the previously mapped flow margin.

Scattered breakouts remain active northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, with the farthest activity about 6 km (3.7 miles) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Some of these breakouts are active along the northern boundary of the flow field, and are burning several small patches of forest - creating the smoke plumes visible near the center of the photograph.

An HVO geologist collects a molten lava sample for chemical analysis, scooping up a bit with the rock hammer to then drop in the water bucket to quench it. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is visible in the distance.