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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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Volcano Watch — Half speed ahead, with no ocean entry

Volcano Watch — Half speed ahead, with no ocean entry

For the past two weeks, people have been asking, "Why isn't the eruption going at full speed?," and "Why isn't lava going into the ocean?"
 

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Volcano Watch — Eruptive behavior not cast in stone as flows slowly meander down slope

Volcano Watch — Eruptive behavior not cast in stone as flows slowly meander down slope

The last two editions of this column have dealt with the intrusion of magma into the upper east rift zone of Kīlauea on September 12 and with the...

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Volcano Watch — Kīlauea's pause that refreshes—Kailua-Kona, that is

Volcano Watch — Kīlauea's pause that refreshes—Kailua-Kona, that is

One of the ways we monitor Kīlauea's activity is by studying the release of volcanic gases. Gases like sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide are trapped...

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Volcano Watch — Where alien grazers and grasses invade, wildfires follow

Volcano Watch — Where alien grazers and grasses invade, wildfires follow

Lava and lightning occasionally ignite fires in Hawaiian forests and shrublands where grass or other fine plant fuels are abundant and when the...

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USGS HVO Press Release — Earthquake Swarm and Ground Deformation Event at Kīlauea Volcano

USGS HVO Press Release — Earthquake Swarm and Ground Deformation Event at Kīlauea Volcano

Starting about 1:31 Sunday morning, September 12, a swarm of small earthquakes and associated volcanic tremor began at Kīlauea Volcano.

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Volcano Watch — Youngest lava flows on East Maui probably older than A.D. 1790

Volcano Watch — Youngest lava flows on East Maui probably older than A.D. 1790

In our efforts to refine the geologic map of Haleakalā, we recently obtained radiocarbon ages from the youngest lava flows, those at La Perouse Bay...

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Volcano Watch — Hokule`a tours hotspots

Volcano Watch — Hokule`a tours hotspots

The Hokule`a set sail from Hilo in June on an eight-month round-trip voyage to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The crew of this double-hulled sailing canoe...

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Volcano Watch — Why was the recent earthquake in Turkey so destructive?

Volcano Watch — Why was the recent earthquake in Turkey so destructive?

The August 17, 1999, magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Turkey leveled thousands of buildings and resulted in over 10,000 deaths. This was the largest...

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Volcano Watch — Riding shotgun for a submarine

Volcano Watch — Riding shotgun for a submarine

In the wild west of the 19th century, stagecoaches often had someone aboard whose job was to warn and protect the driver from marauding gangs and wild...

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Volcano Watch — Beware Kīlauea's new land—not exactly terra firma?

Volcano Watch — Beware Kīlauea's new land—not exactly terra firma?

Kīlauea Volcano has been erupting nearly continuously for the past 6,068 days since activity started on January 3, 1983. Lava first entered the ocean...

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Volcano Watch — Explosions from Kīlauea in the 16th to 18th centuries

Volcano Watch — Explosions from Kīlauea in the 16th to 18th centuries

How long do explosive periods last at Kīlauea? Early researchers concluded that the Keanakako`i Ash—the rocky deposits on the ground surface around...

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Volcano Watch — Here today, gone to Maui

Volcano Watch — Here today, gone to Maui

All of sudden, there's an earthquake...or was it an earthquake? Where was it? How big was it? Does it signal the start of an eruption or magma shiftin...

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