Images

Volcanic threat is defined as the qualitative risk of a volcano to people and property that might be impacted by specific volcanic hazards.

On October 30, 2014, the front of Kīlauea Volcano's active lava flow stalled only about 155 m (170 yards) from Pāhoa Village Road (lower right corner).

C1 and C3 are granitic crystal-melt mush (partially crystallized magma) columns that fed the most recent Mono Craters eruptions. The connection from C1 to South Coulée (SC) is older and colder than the connection from C3 to North Coulée (NC) and Panum Crater (PC), which carries hydrothermal fluid to the surface.

In September 2014, during one of many community meetings held in Pāhoa to address concerns about Kīlauea Volcano's June 27th lava flow, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Kevan Kamibayashi points out the flow's advance as of that week.

A time-lapse camera located in HVO's observation tower captured these interesting images of Halema‘uma‘u during an intense lightning storm at Kīlauea's summit on October 16. Image captured at 11:36 PM.

Image captured at 11:43 PM.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the flow on September 30 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of October 23 (based on satellite imagery and ground mapping) is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system.

This small-scale map shows Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i. The area of the flow on September 30 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of October 23 is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system.

This photo looks west towards the upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. The fume-filled crater at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is in the foreground, and the vent for the June 27th lava flow is just out of view of the lower right corner of the photo. Mauna Loa is visible in the upper right.

A hornito was active in the upper portion of the June 27th flow, with hissing and jetting sounds coming from a small opening at the top. The hornito here was about 2.5 m (8 feet) tall. A hornito is formed by gas and lava forced through a small opening in the roof of a lava tube.

An HVO geologist collects a sample of active lava for chemical analysis. The lava is quenched with water in the metal bucket.

A small channel feeds a lobe of pāhoehoe lava on the eastern margin of the June 27th flow. Scattered breakouts like these were active on the flow field today, with the farthest active lava about 6.4 km (4 miles) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Volcano Disaster Assistance Program staff members share skills, experience, and resources with the USGS VHP, a cooperation that supports the mission of both programs.

Path of small debris flows originating above Butte Camp, Mount St. Helens, Washington.

Debris flow in channel near Butte Camp, Mount St. Helens, Washington.

Kalama Springs, Washington.

To construct a geologic map of this area, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists initially used lava flow type, rock colors, and relative stratigraphic positions to distinguish between individual lava flows, and then relied on laboratory analyses and age-dates of the flows to refine their field mapping. USGS photo.

An HVO field geologist must make his way through dense forest to map the full extent of an old Mauna Loa lava flow. USGS photo.

Summit deflation over the past day was associated with the summit lava lake level slowly dropping. When this happens, collapses commonly occur within the Overlook crater. Solidified lava, attached to the Overlook crater walls, collapsed into the lake on several occasions today, triggering small dust plumes and agitation of the lake surface.

This satellite image was captured on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 by the Landsat 8 satellite. Although this is a false-color image, the color map has been chosen to mimic what the human eye would expect to see. Bright red pixels depict areas of very high temperatures and show active lava. White areas are clouds.

A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory volunteer demonstrates "Drop! Cover! Hold on!"—actions that can reduce injuries or prevent death during an earthquake.