#summit caldera

Like the “Did You Feel It?” earthquake reporting tool helps make maps of areas affected by shaking, the new tool helps scientists map areas affected by tephra fallout; observations will be used to assess the character and size of the eruption plumes from Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, along with the dispersal pattern of tephra fall.

Since Dec. 23, 2024, the north and south vents within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, inside Kaluapele, the summit caldera, have erupted in 39 lava fountaining episodes.

On the one-year anniversary of Kīlauea’s rare episodic eruption, viewers watching the live feed at the summit were shocked to see two men walk in front of the camera that is in a restricted area.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory technicians navigate rugged volcanic terrains and formidable challenges to ensure accurate volcanic activity data.

Inclined lava fountains from north vent within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater inside the Big Island volcano’s caldera ejected molten rock 1,000 feet eastward toward the center of the crater for much of the 12.6 hours the latest eruptive episode.

Legendary observation deck at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park steeped in history and centuries of Hawaiian tradition reopen and ready to welcome back visitors 7 years after it was closed.

Lava fountains reach more than 1,000 feet, volcanic plume soars at least 5,000 feet before most recent phase of eruptive activity — that teased for several days — abruptly ends after just 6 hours and 10 minutes Sunday night.

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.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that lava fountaining and flow activity within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater ceased at about 8:40 p.m. Friday. Lava continues to slowly move, with crustal overturns expected in the hours following the pause in eruptive activity.

Visitors coming to view the 10-day-old eruption inside the volcano’s caldera at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park should expect a daytime traffic change and be aware that air quality could be bad this weekend.

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.

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.

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.

A total of approximately 40 earthquakes were detected on the volcano across all depths, comparable to the number detected in the previous month.

There’s been a dramatic decrease in earthquakes and summit tiltmeters also recorded a change in tilt magnitude and direction during the past several days.

At least 5,000 visitors — and likely sometimes more — came each day of the eruption to see the volcanic activity from Sept. 10-16.

Levels of activity are expected to rise and fall during this period of unrest. No unusual activity has been noted along the volcano’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Elevated seismic activity continues in an area south of Kīlauea’s summit caldera. Earthquakes occurred steadily through the day yesterday, without swarm activity. Most earthquakes have been at a depth of 1-2 miles (2-3 km) below the surface, with no upward migration.

Earthquake swarms have been rattling the summit for nearly week with none reported Saturday.

The lava sample analysis results from the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa gave geologists a window into the volcano’s plumbing system for the first time in almost 40 years.