Big Island Eruption History

Eruption returns in Halemaumau Crater

December 2024 Eruption

Episode I

The eruption within Halemaumau Crater (view USGS Eruption GIF here) began at approximately 2:20 a.m. on Monday, December 23, 2024, and vents erupted on the floor of the southwest part of the summit caldera.

At 4:30 a.m., lava fountains were observeEd with heights up to 80 meters (262 feet). Molten material, including lava bombs, was being ejected from the vents on the caldera floor up onto the west caldera rim, within the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The volcanic gas and ejecta hazards west of the erupting vents stress the hazardous nature of this closed area of Kīlauea's summit. By 5:30 a.m., lava covered an estimated area of 400 acres of the caldera floor.  

Eruptive activity is currently confined to the summit region. No significant changes have been observed in the rift zones.

Around 3 p.m. on the eruption day, the summit's tilt stopped showing deflation, and seismic tremors began decreasing. By 3:30 p.m., lava fountains were barely visible. By 4 p.m., the fountaining had stopped, and seismic tremor was close to background levels. Visible volcanic gas emissions have also decreased significantly. These observations indicate that the eruption has slowed considerably and appears to be entering a pause.

Episode II

The eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began on Monday, December 23, continued the morning of December 25, 2024.  The eruption had been relatively stable over the past day, following the resumption of activity that occurred yesterday morning. Vigorous lava fountains remain active in the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater, sending lava flows across the crater floor. Eruptive activity remains confined to Halemaʻumaʻu and the downdropped block within the caldera and may fluctuate in vigor over the coming days.

Episode 2 of the December 2024 summit eruption of Kīlauea paused just before 11:00 a.m. on Christmas Day. 

The vigorous fountaining from vents in the southwest corner of Halemaʻmaʻu crater rapidly died down over a few minutes just before 11:00 a.m.  Lava began draining back into the vent at 11:00 a.m. at nearly the same time summit tiltmeters began recording a change from deflation to inflation.  Seismic tremors also decreased markedly at the same time.  The pattern was similar but more abrupt than the pause onset on Monday, December 23, between 3 and 4 p.m. 

Episode 2 lasted a little over 24 hours, about twice the duration of the first eruptive episode.  Prior summit eruptions have lasted days to weeks, and there is a high probability that this eruption will resume if the summit repressurizes in the coming days.

Episode III

Around 6 p.m. on December 27, 2024, the eruption transitioned from low level lava flows to the onset of more vigorous fountaining.

Lava began erupting from vents around 8 a.m. yesterday morning (December 26) marking the beginning of the third phase of the ongoing summit eruption.  Sluggish lava flows continued to erupt from the northern vents for the next day and a half. This was much longer than the 3-4 hours of sluggish eruption that preceded the fountaining of the second episode. Current fountain is occurring bursts up to 30-45 ft (10-15 m) high from the two most northern vents. If fountaining continues, it is possible that the fountain heights will increase as more gas-rich lava erupted. It is not possible to estimate how high the fountains may get or how long the fountaining will last, but prior episodes have produced fountains over 200 feet high (70 m) that last up to 24 hours.

Eruption in remote part of HVNP

September 2024 Eruption

Kilauea volcano erupted briefly just west of Napau Crater on the middle East Rift Zone. This eruption likely occurred between approximately 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. HST on Sunday 15, 2024, in a remote and closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Chain of Craters Road, which is closed, is located downslope and downwind of the new fissures.

On September 16, 2024 the eruption resumed in the middle East Rift Zone at about 6 p.m. HST. Activity continued overnight, but generally decreased.

On September 17, 2024, approximately 4 a.m. HST, activity increased and during a morning overflight at approximately 8 a.m. HST, HVO geologists observed that new vents had opened in Nāpau Crater. In total, the fissure system has stretched over 1.6 kilometers (1.0 miles) of the East Rift Zone, with lava flows now covering 18 hectares (44 acres).

On September 18, 2024, during the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory morning monitoring overflight, geologists observed that the activity had greatly decreased. Only weak low fountaining within a tiny lava pond was observed at one vent.

At 3:15 p.m. HST, on September 18, 2024, new eruptive fissures opened west of Napau Crater. A monitoring camera deployed by HVO field crews with permission from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park recorded “lava falls” cascading down the northwest walls of Napau Crater. Vigorous activity continued and by the morning of September 19, about 2/3 of Napau Crater floor had been covered with new lava.

As of 10 a.m. HST on September 20, 2024, eruptive activity had paused.

Eruption resumes in HVNP

June 2024 Eruption

A new Kilauea eruption began at approximately 12:30 a.m. HST on Monday, June 3, likely about a mile (1-2 km) south of Kilauea caldera and north of the Koa'e fault system and Hilina Pali Road, within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Glow was visible in webcam imagery, indicating that lava was erupting from fissures. The most recent eruption in this region was during December 1974, which lasted only about 6 hours.

The eruption took place in a remote location within the national park, was low in eruptive volume, and did not pose an immediate threat to human life or critical infrastructure.

The eruption occurred approximately 3 km (2 miles) southwest of Kaluapele (Kilauea caldera) within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. That eruption lasted less than 9 hours and generated small lava flows that covered about one third of a square mile (one half of a square kilometer).

The eruption that began southwest of Kīlauea’s summit at approximately 12:30 a.m. HST this morning, June 3, has ended.

Eruption temporarily resumes in Halemaumau Crater

September 2023 Eruption

At approximately 3:15 p.m. HST on September 10, 2023, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory observed eruptive activity in Kilauea summit webcam images and from field reports indicating that an eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater and on the down-dropped block to the east in Kīlauea's summit caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.  The eruption was preceded by a period of strong seismicity and rapid uplift of the summit.

The eruption that began at the Kilauea summit on September 10, 2023, has ended. Lava supply to the vents on the downdropped block in Kilauea's summit caldera ceased on September 16, 2023, based on visual and geophysical observations.

We will continue to post updates above, on this page as eruption(s) continue.

Eruption resumes again in Halemaumau Crater

June 2023 Eruption

At approximately 4:44 a.m. HST on June 7, 2023, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected glow in Kilauea summit webcam images indicating that an eruption had commenced within Halema'uma'u crater in Kilauea's summit caldera, within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

This summit eruption event at Kīlauea volcano ended on June 19, 2023.

Eruption resumes in Halemaumau Crater

January 2023 - March 2023 Eruption

Kilauea volcano was previously erupting. At approximately 4:34 p.m. HST on January 5, 2023, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in Kilauea's  summit webcam images, indicating that the eruption had resumed within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kilauea's summit caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

This eruption concluded on March 7, 2023.

2018 East Rift Zone Eruption

Kilauea caldera has undergone a tremendous amount of change over the last decade, and prior to the eruption in December 2020, had not been very active since 2018. See the maps immediately below to get an idea of how volatile the years between 2009 and 2018 were at the park or explore this geo-narrative by the USGS about the 2018 eruption.

In the first days of May 2018, the lava lake that had existed in Halemaumau crater for almost a decade began to drain away. Magma moved from the summit of Kilauea to the Lower East Rift Zone, marked by a series of earthquakes. On May 3rd, the first fissures opened up in the subdivision of Leilani Estates and the massive eruption of 2018 began to unfold in lower Puna.

With less magma left to support the summit, the Halemaumau crater began to collapse. Every 28 hours, on average, the ground within the summit caldera of Kilauea sank with dramatic collapse events. By the end of the 2018 eruption, the Halemaumau crater had sunk by 1,600 feet (488m), and its diameter more than doubled.

Activity circa 2018 East Rift Zone Eruption

Prior to 2018, you could just as easily have witnessed lava flows chewing on Chain of Craters Road as you could view a steam plume from afar. Kilauea is a living, breathing volcano with a mind of its own.

Kilauea's oldest lava flows are dated between 210,000 and 280,000 years ago. Those flows are considered generally young, geologically speaking, for an active volcano.

For the last one thousand years, Kilauea's ongoing eruptions have dramatically shaped the southeast portion of the Big Island of Hawaii. 

The most recent 100 years of volcanic activity at Kilauea can be divided into seven distinct eruptions.

Kilauea Eruption History:

• May 1924 explosive eruption
• 1955 Lower East Rift Zone Eruption
• 1959 eruption of the Kilauea Iki
• 1960 Kapoho eruption
• 1969-1974 Mauna Ulu Eruption 
• 2008-2018 Summit Eruption & Lava Lake
• 1983-2018 Pu'u 'O'o Eruption