Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Photo and Video Chronology — Minor Cracking on Chain of Craters Road from Intrusion

By Hawaiian Volcano Observatory July 26, 2024

During an intrusion in Kīlauea's upper East Rift Zone from July 22-25, 2024, more than 1,500 earthquakes were detected. Changes in ground deformation patterns indicated that magma moved beneath the ground in this area in stages and caused minor cracking in the Chain of Craters Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The event appears to be over but future unrest could occur in this area. 

Color photograph of scientist standing near road
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
On July 23, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) staff drove down the closed portion of Chain of Craters Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to check for any damage related to the July 22-25 intrusion on Kīlauea's upper East Rift Zone. From July 22-25, over 1,500 earthquakes occurred in the upper East Rift Zone, southeast of the summit, as magma moved beneath the ground surface into this area. On July 23, HVO staff did not find any major changes but noted small cracks near Hiʻiaka Crater. USGS photo by M. Zoeller. 
Crack on a road
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
On July 25, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) staff again drove down the closed portion of Chain of Craters Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to check for any damage related to the July 22-25 intrusion on Kīlauea's upper East Rift Zone. They found many new small cracks in Chain of Craters Road, including this one, near Hiʻiaka Crater. From July 22-25, over 1,500 earthquakes occurred in the upper East Rift Zone, southeast of the summit, as magma moved beneath the ground surface into this area. Earthquake activity was centered near Pauahi Crater for part of the swarm. USGS photo by M. Zoeller. 
Color map showing ground deformation and earthquakes at a volcano
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
This reference map depicts recent unrest along Kīlauea's upper East Rift Zone. Earthquakes that occurred between July 22–25, 2024, are shown as yellow circles. Recent ground deformation in this region, over the timeframe of July 15-24, 2024, is shown as colored fringes; data were recorded by the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) Cosmo-SkyMED satellite. More fringes indicate more deformation, and each color cycle represents 1.5 cm (0.6 in) of ground motion. The bullseye feature southeast of Pauahi Crater on the upper East Rift Zone indicates inflation over this time period due to magma accumulation underground.  

Get Our News

These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.

Hawaii News

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory News

Kasuga 2 News

Natural Hazards News