Hawai'i Volcano Blog

The eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began on Monday, Dec. 23, continues this morning. Over the past day, vents in the southwest portion of the caldera have continued producing a fan of lava flows covering the western portion of the crater floor during sustained lava fountaining.

As of this morning, U.S. Geological Survey’s livestream video of the eruption continued to show fountaining.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the earthquake late Sunday night was part of the ongoing swarm of deep seismicity that has been happening beneath the area of the Kaʻū community since 2019. It had no apparent impact on either Kīlauea of Mauna Loa volcanoes.

There are eyes watching and waiting for those awe-inspiring moments with more nefarious reasons in mind. “Thieves are looking for the right moment to steal your stuff,” said Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park in a recent Facebook post.

If fountaining continues, it is possible heights will increase as more gas-rich lava erupts. However, it is not possible to estimate how high fountains could get or how long fountaining will last.

The low level eruptive activity has gone on for more than a day, after the eruption resumed Thursday evening. Eruptions in the summit region typically last about a week to more than a year. This eruption began during the early morning of Dec. 23.

This is the Big Island volcano’s third eruption this year, and all three happened in different parts of the mountain — the Southwest Rift Zone, East Rift Zone and now the summit caldera. The last time eruptions happened in all of these areas in the same year was 50 years ago!

Park rangers and officials warn those who do otherwise do so at great risk. In a split second, awe, wonder and amazement can change to fear, catastrophe and tragedy.

“Inflation of the summit following the shutdown indicates that a resumption in activity is possible in the coming days, but not certain,” said Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in its daily Kīlauea update just after 9:30 a.m. today.

Vigorous fountaining from vents in the southwest corner of Halemaʻmaʻu Crater within Kaluapele, the volcano’s summit caldera, rapidly died down a few minutes just before 11 a.m. Lava then began draining back into tthe vent at nearly the same time summit tiltmeters started recording a change from deflation to inflation.

Fountaining of lava began to increase in vigor by about 11 a.m. today, signaling the onset of the second episode of the eruption, which started early Monday within and remains confined to the volcano’s summit caldera and downdropped block.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that at about 3 p.m. today, tilt at the summit stopped showing deflation and seismic tremor began decreasing. By 3:30 p.m., lava fountains were barely visible, and by 4 p.m. fountaining had stopped and seismic tremor was close to background levels. Visible volcanic gas emissions also decreased significantly.

After the review process, the information is ready to be shared and can support decision-making, raise community awareness and increase knowledge and understanding of our volcanic environment.

The magnitude-3.7 temblor rattled the Valley Isle at 8:44 p.m. Thursday, striking 1.2 miles east of Hana at a depth of 6.2 miles below sea level. It was felt in Hāwī, Kapaʻau, Waimea and Honomū on the Big Island.

Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association will move its park store 1.2 miles west to a welcome center in the Koa Room at Kīlauea Military Camp. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park will also operate visitor services from the Koa Room.

Volcanologists use interferograms to detect unrest by observing how the surface of a volcano is deforming in response to migrating magma beneath the ground. But while interferograms can be beautiful and informative, they are also difficult to interpret.

Join Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and partners again in January 2025 to learn about volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi but also think about submitting a piece for the new art and poetry contest.

Earthquakes in the Kaʻiwi Channel region are not common but occasionally have happened in the past 200 years. They are caused by bending of the crust beneath the islands and associated adjustments related to the weight of the islands.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is thankful this Thanksgiving holiday weekend for staff, volunteers and all of its partners who work behind the scenes — and even on holidays — to protect it from invasive, non-native introduced pests. You can get involved, too.

The earthquake happened at 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning 11 miles west-northwest of Volcano at a depth of 13 miles below sea level. It was felt around the island and as far away as Honolulu.