Volcano Watch: How have eruptions shaped Hawaiʻi? Volcano Awareness Month 2025, with a twist

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

U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island monitors the 6 active volcanoes in Hawaiʻi, but past eruptions have shaped all of the Hawaiian Islands.

Join us in January 2025 for Volcano Awareness Month, an opportunity to learn about volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi during the past year and beyond.

New for this upcoming edition, submit art or poetry recognizing Hawaiʻi’s volcanic history.

From Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) on Oʻahu to the changing caldera at the summit of Kīlauea on Hawaiʻi Island, our landscape is shaped by volcanic processes and events.

This year has been another one of dynamic volcanic activity on Hawaiʻi Island, with Kīlauea eruptions occurring outside Kaluapele, the summit caldera, for the first time since 2018.

Multiple intrusions into the upper portions of the Southwest Rift Zone and East Rift Zone culminated in a 1-day eruption June 3 southwest of the caldera, and an eruption from Sept. 15-20 in and near Nāpau Crater in the middle East Rift Zone.

Volcano Awareness Month is organized each January by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, along with close partners at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Hawai‘i County Civil Defense and other organizations.

During January 2025, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will host talks and guided walks around Hawaiʻi Island to share information about a range of volcano-related topics.

Come learn about volcanic activity and earthquakes during the past year, discover the island’s extensive history of past eruptions and earthquakes and hear how we monitor, map and study volcanoes in Hawaiʻi.

The Kīlauea Visitor Center auditorium will be closed, so instead of weekly After Dark in the Park presentations as in years past, observatory scientists will be doing talks and walks on Tuesdays in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Join Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff:

• Jan. 7: Discussion about the network of instruments monitoring Hawaiʻi’s volcanoes.
• Jan. 14: Learn about Kīlauea’s ever-evolving summit caldera.
• Jan. 21: Walk into the Whitney Vault, built in 1912 to host volcano monitoring equipment.
• Jan. 28: Get an explanation for Kīlauea’s explosive past during a guided walk.

Additional guided hikes will take place Saturdays in January:

• Jan. 4: Learn about the 1868 eruption while walking the Puʻu o Lokuana trail in the Kahuku Unit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
• Jan. 18: Hike to Maunaiki, which erupted in 1919-20, through the Kaʻū Desert in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
• Jan. 25: Trek the slopes of Hualālai to learn about unique trachyte deposits in Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Forest Reserve.

Talks summarizing eruptive activity and earthquakes during the past year will take place:

• Jan. 9 at Cooper Center in Volcano Village.
• Jan. 13 at Pāhoa Public Library.
• Jan. 15 at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
• Jan. 22 at Kailua-Kona Public Library.

Learn the art and science of geologic mapping in Hawaiʻi during a talk Jan. 16 at the Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. This program will be repeated Jan. 29 on campus at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Other programs include:

• Jan. 8: Talk story opportunity with Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff at Nāʻālehu Public Library.
• Jan. 27: Talk in Pāhala about earthquakes happening deep beneath that region since 2019.
• Jan. 24: Geology Department open house at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Whether you can join us during an in-person Volcano Awareness Month event in January or not, we invite you to enter a new art and poetry contest, open Jan. 1–20.

Submit a haiku or art in any medium — but no larger than 16-by-24 inches — related to volcanic landscapes or eruptions in Hawaiʻi.

Winners in several categories will be announced in a “Volcano Watch” article at the end of January, and a selection of entries will be on display at a scientific conference about caldera-forming eruptions, such as Kīlauea’s in 2018, in February 2025 in Hilo.

We hope to see you at a Volcano Awareness Month event and look forward to the art and poetry submissions!

Learn more about Volcano Awareness Month events and the art and poetry contest at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website or email askHVO@usgs.gov.

Volcano Activity Updates

Kīlauea is not erupting. Its U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Alert level is at Advisory.

During the past week, elevated earthquake rates beneath Kīlauea’s summit and upper East Rift Zone continued.

About 130 earthquakes were located beneath the summit and about 270 in the upper East Rift Zone. Earthquake rates beneath the middle East Rift Zone were more than double that of the previous week, with about 100 events.

Ground deformation rates in the summit region showed steady inflation during the past week, while ground deformation rates near the Sept. 15-20 middle East Rift Zone eruption site slowed.

Future intrusive episodes and eruptions could occur with continued magma supply.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. Its U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Alert Level is at Normal.

Six earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week:

• A magnitude-3.5 earthquake 14 miles west-northwest of Maunaloa, Molokaʻi, in the Kaʻiwi Channel, at depth of 4 miles on Dec. 3 at 1:53 p.m.
• A magnitude-3 earthquake 9 miles south of Volcano on Dec. 3 at 1:17 a.m.
• A magnitude-2.5 earthquake 4 miles south-southwest of Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo at a depth of 12 mi on Dec. 2 at 7:04 a.m.
• A magnitude-4 earthquake 10 miles west-northwest of Volcano at a depth of 12 miles on Nov. 30 at 8:40 a.m.
• A magnitude-3.3 earthquake 8 miles east of Pāhala at at a depth of 17 miles on Nov. 29 at 6:38 p.m.
• A magnitude-2.8 earthquake 11 miles southeast of Waimea at a depth of 14 miles on Nov. 28 at 8:29 a.m.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

Visit the observatory’s website for past “Volcano Watch” articles, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.