Scientists film incredible footage of Hawaiian volcano erupting

The Big Island is home to one of the most lively volcanoes on Earth. And you can see why.

Hawaii’s youngest and most active volcano, Kilauea, has been erupting lava for decades, adding hundreds of acres to the island since 1983. A recent eruption episode inside its sizable pit crater, Halema’uma’u, shows how lava can vigorously erupt from the volcano, located on the southeastern shore of the island of Hawaii. United States Geological Survey researchers with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory filmed impressive fountains of lava shooting from the ground — indicative of Kilauea’s dynamic volcanism.

“This one went to 11…,” the USGS Volcanoes account posted on X.

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“This clip shows a view of 600-foot-high lava fountains from episode 11 of the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea,” the USGS said. “The episode started at 6:26 p.m. HST on February 25, and paused at 7:06 a.m. HST on February 26. Make sure you have the volume turned up…”

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This latest eruptive episode, occurring atop the volcano’s lava-blanketed summit inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, began on Dec. 23, 2024. The volcanic episodes have lasted from 13 hours to over 8 days. They’re naturally awesome and intense, but relatively normal for Kilauea. Today, 90 percent of the volcano is covered in lava that’s less than 1,000 years old.

The source of magma (underground lava) for Hawaiian volcanoes like Kilauea is a stationary “hot spot,” a place underneath Earth’s crust where rocks melt and then regularly ooze out, flowing up to the surface through subterranean channels. You can watch Kilauea’s roiling volcanic activity live on a USGS webcam, day and night.

And future denizens of Earth may witness Kilauea’s even younger sibling, Lo’ihi, which currently erupts lava thousands of feet beneath the surface, in the Pacific Ocean. It, too, may one day spray stunning fountains of lava into the air.