Hawai'i Volcano Blog

Update: Kīlauea turns in bit of overtime before abruptly clocking out to end Episode 22

Most recent eruptive episode of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater within Kaluapele, the summit caldera of the Big Island volcano, ended at 3:29 p.m. Friday, 10 hours and 16 minutes after another awesome display of high fountaining began.

Volcano Watch: What lurks beneath; learning from lava ooze outs

Dive beneath the solidified crust on the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater floor in this week’s edition of “Volcano Watch” to explore the complicated mix of molten material below.

Update: Lava fountains make a short, special appearance for Mother’s Day

Episode 21 of the ongoing episodic eruption of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater at Kaluapele, the Big Island volcano’s summit caldera, ended at 8:34 p.m. Sunday, on Mother’s Day 2025.

Volcano Watch: 20 episodes and counting — lava fountains continue in Kaluapele

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory remains steadfast and vigilant as lava fountaining episodes continue at the summit of the Big Island’s Kīlauea volcano, maintaining its monitoring and livestreaming of the volcano to document the eruption’s evolution, inform hazard assessments and apprise the public of ongoing volcanic activity.

Update: Kīlauea’s Episode 20 erupts with lava fountains of 500-plus feet, but lasts less than 5 hours

Latest episode of sustained geisers of molten rock in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater at the Big Island volcano’s summit was shortest since eruption began Dec. 23, 2024.

Magnitude 3.6 earthquake on Friday strikes 4 miles from Laupāhoehoe on Big Island

The earthquake was at a depth of 19 miles below the sea and had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Update: Episode 19 of ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption ends in less than 8 hours

Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and will issue an eruption update tomorrow morning unless there are significant changes before then

State: Vog, sulfur dioxide still potential health hazards even while Kīlauea summit eruption paused

Health officials encourage the public to keep a close eye on Hawaiʻi air quality data as volcanic gas emissions remain elevated. Air quality can change quickly, depending on the amount of gas being released from the Big Island volcano, wind direction and other weather conditions.

Volcano Watch: Tilt, tremor and lava — remembering Mauna Loa’s 2022 eruption onset

Geophysical instruments recorded many major, and even subtle, details the night of the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption onset. In this week’s “Volcano Watch,” explore some of these monitoring data observations that offer clues as to what was happening beneath the surface.

Kīlauea provides Earth Day display of power and beauty with latest fountaining phase

Lava jettisoned to heights of more than 650 feet at times during the 10 hours of Episode 18 high fountaining before the most recent phase of the Big Island volcano’s summit eruption ended the afternoon of April 22.

Volcano Watch: How to build a beach — Pohoiki growth through the years

The beach at Pohoiki, near the easternmost point on the the Big Island in the Puna District, grew rapidly in the year following the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea and has continued to evolve since.

Update: Kīlauea anticipated to enter its fountaining phase during 18th eruptive episode this weekend

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports Episode 18 of ongoing summit eruption of the Big Island volcano began at 10:01 p.m. April 16 and was feeding a lava flow that extended down the vent’s spillway and a short distance onto the crater floor.

Volcano Watch: Focus on the National Volcano Information Service

National Volcano Information Service will be an indispensable component of National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System, integrating cutting-edge information technology solutions to ensure efficient monitoring, accurate data interpretation and effective communication of volcanic hazards.

Nāhuku lava tube comfort station upgrades complete

Facility within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park open to use before visitors head out into the park, which is especially nice now that visitor center restrooms are zipped up for renovations.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s new permanent home still slated for completion in early 2027

Work on the Hawaiian Volcano Observatoryʻs new permanent home and a field station continue despite a recent scare, when its temporary home in Hilo was on the original list of federal buildings “not core to government operations,” according to the Trump Administration.

Volcano Watch: Kīlauea’s continuing summit eruption

Kīlauea summit has shown little net change in pressurization since the eruption began Dec. 23, 2024, indicating the summit has been in some level of equilibrium. As long as that equilibrium is maintained, the episodic eruption at the summit is likely to continue.

Volcano Watch: Moving magma — what happens after a dike intrudes a rift zone?

When magma moves into the rift zone of a Hawaiian volcano, there is understandably a lot of excitement and apprehension. How far will the magma go? Will it erupt? But even long after the activity stops — regardless of whether it erupts — the subsurface magma continues to have a noticeable impact on the landscape.

Lava skyrockets to more than 700 feet in Episode 15 of ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption

It took about 10 hours or so, but the vents inside Halemaʻumaʻu Crater within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park once again did not disappoint, but officials warn there are some hazards to watch out for accompanying the roaring geysers of molten rock.

Volcano Watch: A collapse at Mauna Loa’s summit in 1868, like Kīlauea’s in 2018?

There seems to be enough evidence of some sort of collapse happening, which remains the only such event in the volcano’s documented history, simultaneously with a dramatic eruption that caused Hawai’i’s largest ever recorded earthquake, a magnitude-7.9 temblor that resulted in a tsunami and landslide in Ka’u that killed more than 100 people and lava flows that inundated 9 square miles.

Sluggish but steady: Episode 14 of Kīlauea summit eruption off to slow start

The newest eruptive phase of the ongoing eruption inside Halemaʻumaʻu Crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park began just before 9:30 a.m. today (March 19), but the signature tall lava fountains the the active phases have become known for are expected later this afternoon.
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