Volcano Watch: Lava fountains of knowledge; events for January Volcano Awareness Month

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. Today’s article is by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Katie Mulliken.

As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on the historic past year of volcanic activity on Hawaiʻi Island.

Thirty-eight episodes of lava fountaining — as of this writing — at the summit of Kīlauea remind us that we live on a volcanic landscape and should be aware of the volcanic processes and hazards that can affect us.

Join Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff and our partners at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense in January 2026 for a series of programs around the island.

We’ll be doing talks, guided walks and will be available to talk story about eruptions and earthquakes in Hawaiʻi, how we monitor them and hazards associated with these events.

Kīlauea lava fountaining episodes during the past year have occurred within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and have been visible from overlooks around Kaluapele, Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

The episodic eruption has fascinated scientists and viewers alike. It also demonstrates that eruptions can have far-reaching effects.

Lava flows have been contained within the caldera, and larger particles that fall out from the lava fountains — called tephra, which includes Pele’s hair — blanketed the areas immediately downwind of the eruptive vents.

These areas are extremely hazardous and remain closed to the public.

Smaller particles from the fountains, including ash and Pele’s hair, as well as volcanic gas emissions are transported downwind and have affected communities in the district of Kaʻū and farther.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff will be in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park each Tuesday in January for informal talk story sessions during which you can learn from observatory geologists, field engineers and hazard specialists about their work and ask questions.

Venture into the Whitney Vault near Volcano House, where you’ll learn about the original volcano monitoring devices previously housed there and how our technology has changed with time.

Additional guided walks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will be offered Jan. 16 at Haʻakulamanu — Sulphur Banks trail — and Jan. 19 on Devastation Trail.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will also host talk story sessions in Kaʻū, where vog and volcanic ash from Kīlauea’s recent eruptive episodes have affected communities.

Sessions are scheduled for Jan. 14 and 21 at Pāhala and Nāʻālehu public libraries, respectively. Come to the Kahuku Unit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on Jan. 17 to hear a Kīlauea eruption update.

Learn about the impacts of the Nov. 29, 1975, magnitude-7.7 earthquake and tsunami at the Kahuku Unit in the morning of Jan. 24 and then that afternoon attend the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense disaster preparation fair at Ocean View.

Events in the Volcano Village area include a Kīlauea summit eruption update the evening of Jan. 26 at Kīlauea Military Camp. You can also learn all about volcanology and how we monitor volcanoes during an evening presentation Jan. 29 at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village.

Several Volcano Awareness Month events also will be hosted at various locations in Hilo.

Join Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff Jan. 3 at Pacific Tsunami Museum, Jan. 10 at Hawaiʻi Science & Technology Museum or Jan. 24 at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo for Onizuka Day.

You can see the youngest rocks on Earth — pieces of the lava fountains that fell to the ground or slabs of pāhoehoe lava collected from the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater — during those events.

Learn about how volcanoes and earthquakes are related in Hawaiʻi during an evening talk Jan. 15 at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and hear an update about the summit eruption of Kīlauea during an event Jan. 28 at ʻImiloa Astronomy Center.

An update about the Kīlauea summit eruption will also be offered Jan. 8 in Waikōloa Village, and residents in Kailua-Kona — who live on Hualālai volcano — can attend a presentation Jan. 22 about the history of Hualālai activity as well as vog from other erupting volcanoes.

Whether you live in Volcano Village, where you can hear the roaring of Kīlauea’s episodic lava fountains, or your home is in Kona, where you might be affected by the vog, we hope to see you at one — or more — of the Volcano Awareness Month events this January.

Let us know if you have any questions by emailing to askHVO@usgs.gov.

VOLCANO ACTIVITY UPDATES

KĪLAUEA

Volcano Alert Level: Watch

Kīlauea has been erupting episodically since Dec. 23, 2024, within the summit caldera inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Episode 38 lava fountaining happened for about 12 hours Dec. 6. The summit is reinflating and glow has been visible intermittently overnight at both vents.

No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

What’s Next? Another fountaining episode is likely between Dec. 20 and 30.

MAUNALOA

Volcano Alert Level: Normal

Maunaloa is not erupting.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in a Dec. 4 monthly update about activity at Maunaloa reported that GPS instruments show a slight increase in inflation beneath the summit starting in mid-November.

These rates are normal as the volcano recovers from its 2022 eruption and magma replenishes the reservoir system.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Maunaloa.

EARTHQUAKES

One earthquake was reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week:

• Magnitude-3.4 located 8 miles southeast of Pāhala at a depth of 17 miles at 4:28 a.m. Dec. 11.

Visit the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website for past “Volcano Watch” articles, Kīlauea and Maunaloa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.