Images

Ash-laden Halema‘uma‘u plume captures the rainbow in the early morning light. Photo taken from Steaming Bluffs.

Lava flows creep through the Royal Gardens subdivision on February 24, 2012, slowly burying the few remaining forested kipuka.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

This panorama, taken from the eastern rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, shows the broken, jumbled crater floor. In the right portion of the photograph, near the northeast rim of the crater, a collapsed cone hosted a small roiling lava pond today.

An HVO geologist sets up a webcam to monitor active flows on the coastal plain.

Higher up on the flow field, fume marks the trace of the lava tube. In the lower left portion of the photograph, a glowing skylight can be seen. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is visible near the top of the photo.

This thermal image, looking west, shows the meager activity out on the flow field today, due to an ongoing deflation event at the summit. On the coastal plain, the red and orange areas depict flows that have been active over the past two weeks, but are now stalled.

A small pāhoehoe lobe slowly flows into a crack on the flow field.

pāhoehoe flows remain active on the upper coastal plain, extending a few hundred meters out from the base of the pali. The activity today was relatively sluggish, likely because of a recent deflation phase at the summit.

A) Example of an ashmeter deployed in the backyard of Rodrigo Ruiz on January 14, 2012 (Pillate); B) An example of a thin (1.1 mm-thick) deposit collected March 14, 2012 in Pillate, from the February 4, 2012 eruption. From Bernard (2013).

pāhoehoe flows were active on the coastal plain today, but extended only about 400 m (440 yards) out from the base of the pali. These flows have about 2.8 km (1.7 miles) more to travel to reach the ocean. Farther up the hill, on the steep lower portion of the pali, several active ‘A‘ā cascades are visible.

Volcano monitoring stations must be designed to withstand harsh winter conditions.

Volcanically-heated water of Loowit Creek flows from Mount St. Helens' crater through Loowit Channel.

USGS scientist repairs the Loowit AFM station above Loowit Falls.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum, shown in this photo, sit atop the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The snow-capped summit of Mauna Loa, nearly 10,000 feet higher than Kīlauea, looms in the background.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum, shown in this photo, sit atop the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The snow-capped summit of Mauna Loa, nearly 10,000 feet higher than Kīlauea, looms in the background.

Southerly winds afforded a rare view of the south side of the Overlook vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, within Kīlauea's caldera. The collapse crater that defines the opening of the vent is about 160 m (~525 ft) across and 80 m (~260 ft) deep. The fence for the old tourist overlook is faintly visible at the upper right side of the photo.

The channelized flow show here just reaching the base of the Pulama pali is the leading edge of flows that destroyed the last occupied house in the Royal Gardens subdivision. One abandoned structure still stands.

This composite image is an overlay of a thermal image over a normal photograph, and shows the active flows traveling down the pali, through Royal Gardens subdivision. The names of the roads not covered by lava are shown in white text. The last occupied residence in Royal Gardens is just west of the Plumeria-Hoku intersection.

Hawai‘i Island 4th grade student Jyron Young was awarded the Grand Prize in HVO's centennial poster contest for his stunning artwork depicting 100 years of volcano watching (top center). All ten winning posters are posted on HVO's website at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/. USGS photo.