Volcano Watch

On July 4, 2018, an observer at the Volcano House Hotel was watching the evolving collapse of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, 4 km (2.5 miles) away. Suddenly he...

The recent first anniversary of the appearance of water at Kīlauea's summit is a reminder of how much has changed since the end of the 2018 eruption...

On July 25, 2019, ponded water was first observed within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Over the past twelve months, the USGS Hawaiian...

The Youth and Education in Science (YES) program at USGS in collaboration with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is launching a community...

Mauna Kea volcano hasn't erupted in over 4,500 years, but that doesn't mean it's quiet. In fact, for decades it has been hiding one of the most unique...

The "Hawaiian Sup‘pa Man," demi-god Maui, had several adventures on the Wailuku River in the legendary past. He rescued his mother, Hina, who lived in...

Last week's "Volcano Watch" article introduced the role of "technician" at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). This week, we present the...

As part of Volcano Awareness Month earlier this year, "Volcano Watch" featured five articles focused on different roles at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano...

The extraordinary leadership of Tina Neal as Scientist-in-Charge (SIC) of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) comes to an end this week, when...

On June 27, 1952, an eruption started at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, ending a period of quiescence that had lasted nearly 18 years.

As many people have noted, the last global pandemic was raging one hundred years ago.  Kīlauea was erupting 100 years ago, although it was certainly...

If you were around the Island of Hawai‘i—or even other Hawaiian Islands, or Guam!—between May and August of 2018, you likely know that Kīlauea’s lower...

The past two years of "Volcano Watch" articles from late May focused on commemorating the 49th and 50th anniversaries of the Mauna Ulu eruption...

It takes a village to run a volcano observatory. The position of Deputy Scientist-in-Charge (DSIC), once called Operations Manager but always known as...

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is "to monitor, investigate, and assess hazards from active volcanoes...

Many messages to AskHVO (askHVO@usgs.gov) request resources relating to geologic maps and geographic information systems (GIS) data. "Is there a map...

This week, many of us read news coverage of a recent study suggesting that unusually heavy rainfall triggered the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea. To address...

Mount St. Helens was exploding! The first eruption in the Cascades since 1914–1917 (Lassen Peak) started on March 27, 1980. April became a frenzied...

With heavy heart, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) bids aloha to Janet Babb, outreach geologist and educator extraordinaire who retired...

Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, has erupted, on average, every 5–6 years during the past 3,000 years.