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Daily updates about ongoing eruptions, recent images and videos of summit and East Rift Zone volcanic activity, maps, and data about recent earthquakes in Hawaii are posted on the HVO website. 

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and colleagues.

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Photo and Video Chronology - Mauna Loa - March 15, 2000

Photo and Video Chronology - Mauna Loa - March 15, 2000

An under-appreciated and poorly understood aspect of Mauna Loa's eruptive activity is the presence of explosion debris on the east and west sides of...

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Volcano Watch — Flames from vents are hydrogen gas burning

Volcano Watch — Flames from vents are hydrogen gas burning

Large and colorful flames sometimes play from vents on Kīlauea volcano. These flames, which range from yellowish orange to greenish blue and reach as...

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Volcano Watch — The 1955 eruption: spur to a new era of understanding Kīlauea

Volcano Watch — The 1955 eruption: spur to a new era of understanding Kīlauea

The 1955 eruption in lower Puna, described in last week's column, was destructive. About 1,580 hectares (3,900 acres) were covered by 108 million...

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Volcano Watch — The 1955 eruption: the first in lower Puna since 1840

Volcano Watch — The 1955 eruption: the first in lower Puna since 1840

Tomorrow, February 28, marks the 45th anniversary of the start of the 1955 eruption on Kīlauea's lower east rift zone. This was the first eruption of...

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USGS HVO Press Release — Earthquake Swarm Rocks Upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano

USGS HVO Press Release — Earthquake Swarm Rocks Upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano

A swarm of shallow earthquakes began on Kīlauea's upper east rift zone at 1342 this afternoon.

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Volcano Watch — Why is the water in `Ahalanui pond so warm?

Volcano Watch — Why is the water in `Ahalanui pond so warm?

Annual rainfall totals on the windward slopes of Mauna Loa and Kīlauea average up to nearly 10 meters (300 inches), yet there are no perennial streams...

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Volcano Watch — How high was Haleakalā?

Volcano Watch — How high was Haleakalā?

Haleakalā, the volcano that forms East Maui, had higher summit elevations in its glorious past. Today the volcano's highest point is 10,023 feet, but...

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Volcano Watch — The longest Kīlauea eruption in memory

Volcano Watch — The longest Kīlauea eruption in memory

What is the longest eruption in memory at Kīlauea? The ongoing Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption, which entered its 18th year on January 3? The nearly...

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Volcano Watch — A sensory tour of Kīlauea's sulfur gases

Volcano Watch — A sensory tour of Kīlauea's sulfur gases

Gravy and Hostess cupcakes—both delicious in their own way, but not necessarily in combination. Although they are extremely different from each other...

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Volcano Watch — Fossils reveal birdlife of Hawai`i's past

Volcano Watch — Fossils reveal birdlife of Hawai`i's past

Strolling the desolate Mo`omomi Beach of Moloka`i's north shore some 30 years ago, a woman came upon what appeared to be the remains of a turkey...

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Volcano Watch — Mapping new lava as easy or difficult as finding the flow margin

Volcano Watch — Mapping new lava as easy or difficult as finding the flow margin

Geologists everywhere like to study rocks in the field, but few of them get to map rocks that are still molten and on the move. Here in Hawai`i, we...

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Volcano Watch — The Kapoho eruption—40 years old this week

Volcano Watch — The Kapoho eruption—40 years old this week

This Thursday, January 13, marks the 40th anniversary of the Kapoho eruption, the sequel to the Kīlauea Iki eruption in November-December 1959. It was...

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