Volcanoes

Hazards associated with potential volcanic activity in American Samoa include ground shaking and related hazards, local tsunami, volcanic gases, low-level localized explosions of lava, lava flows, lava ocean entry hazards, and hydrovolcanic and phreatomagmatic activity.

Volcanic activity in American Samoa is within the area of responsibility of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, based in Hilo on the Island of Hawai‘i. Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega and Ta‘ū are potentially active volcanoes within the United States Territory of American Samoa. All are considered low threat.

The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea hasn’t made the news recently, but that doesn’t mean the recent eruptive activity hasn’t been noteworthy. It’s just been operating quietly in the background, without much fanfare.

The Hawaiian Islands are at the southeast end of a chain of volcanoes that began to form more than 70 million years ago. Each island is made of one or more volcanoes, which first erupted on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and emerged above sea level only after countless eruptions. Presently, there are six active volcanoes in Hawaii.

Volcanic eruptions are one of Earth's most dramatic and violent agents of change. Not only can powerful explosive eruptions drastically alter land and water for tens of kilometers around a volcano, but tiny liquid droplets of sulfuric acid erupted into the stratosphere can change our planet's climate temporarily. Eruptions often force people living near volcanoes to abandon their land and homes...

The eight main Hawaiian Islands are made up of 15 volcanoes, which are the youngest in a linear chain of more than 129 volcanoes (above and below sea level) that stretches for about 6,100 km (3,800 mi) across the north Pacific.

Deep beneath Pāhala, a town located in the southern part of the Island of Hawai’i, is currently the most seismically active region of the Hawaiian Islands. Frequent, deep earthquakes (greater than 20 km or 12 miles below sea level) are felt regularly by local residents, and, occasionally, people across the entire island.

The recent eruption on La Palma, in the Canary Islands, has stimulated speculation that the volcano might collapse, creating a tsunami that would devastate the east coast of North and South America. But is such a scenario possible or likely?

Kamaʻehuakanaloa volcano may seem unfamiliar, perhaps because its name was recently updated: in July 2021, Lōʻihi Seamount was renamed Kamaʻehuakanaloa by the Hawaii Board on Geographic Names.

Both volcanoes and landslides are important for landscape evolution in Hawaii and worldwide. In Washington State, an old legend makes the connection between them.