Videos

There’s a lot of hot water in Yellowstone. What’s it heated by? The magma chamber beneath the surface, of course!

If you want to find a lava flow in Yellowstone, look to the trees! The vegetation is telling us more than you might think.

YVO Scientist-in-Charge Mike Poland reveals how vegetation can be used to map geology in this month's update from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Well look at this mess! What’s going on? 

We’re just south of Mammoth Hot Springs at a place informally known as the Hoodoos. The official designation for the area is Silver Gate, named by an early Yellowstone National Park visitor because of the way the road wound between the closely spaced white and gray boulders. 

Is it true roads in Yellowstone National Park are melting? Whatever you might have heard, it's nothing new and it's not due to increased volcanic activity. Get up-to-speed in this month's update from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (March 2025).

The world’s largest iceberg floats freely in the Southern Ocean.

Iceberg A23a is a 1,500 square mile ice mass larger than the state of Rhode Island. A23a weighs approximately 1 trillion tons and measures around 1,300 feet thick.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists captured these videos of the Kīlauea summit on January 3, 2025, during a morning overflight at approximately 7 a.m. HST. With permission from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, geologists landed in Halemaʻumaʻu, which is home to the Native Hawaiian elemental force associated with lava, Pele.

On January 2, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists measured lava fountains at Kīlauea summit reaching heights of 262-295 feet (80-90 meters). USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

Another telephoto view of the vents erupting at Kīlauea summit on January 2, 2025. View is from the closed west rim area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. USGS video by M. Patrick. 

Over the past day, vents in the southwest portion of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) have continued producing a fan of lava flows covering the western portion of the crater floor during sustained lava fountaining. USGS photo by M. Patrick on January 2, 2025. 

Lava fountaining in the southwest portion of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) has producing tephra cone perched along the caldera wall. USGS video by M. Patrick on January 2, 2025. 

In addition to the December 2024 update, Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, presents YVO’s top five geologic stories from Yellowstone National Park in 2024. 

Fountaining at Kīlauea summit increased in vigor on December 29. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists on the crater rim the morning of December 29 observed an increase in height throughout their field shift, up to about 40 m (130 feet). Lava effusion was also starting to form a perched lava pond in front of the vents. USGS video by M. Patrick. 

This video shows lava fountaining within Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) on the morning of December 29, 2024, as viewed from the south rim of the crater by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists. USGS video by M. Patrick

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight on the morning of Friday, December 27, 2024, of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Glowing red lava fountains are continuing to erupt at Kīlauea summit this Christmas Eve. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitored the eruption from the caldera rim, measuring the lava fountain heights at approximately 75 meters (246 feet) during an afternoon monitoring fieldshift.

The B2cam captures a live view of Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the east rim and down-dropped block, looking west across Kīlauea summit caldera. On December 23, 2024, it captured the start of another Kīlauea summit eruption. Images taken by the webcam were compiled into this timelapse video that shows lava fountains feeding lava flows across the caldera floor.

This video, taken from the west rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera), in the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shows the new eruption that started this morning at 2:20 a.m. HST. At approximately 4:30 a.m.

This aerial video, captured during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight at approximately 2:30 p.m. HST, shows lava fountaining in the southwest part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera). The eruption began today, December 23, 2024, and covered approximately 650 acres of the caldera floor with lava. USGS video by M. Patrick. 

The V1cam provides a live view of Kīlauea caldera down-dropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the northwest rim of the caldera. It captured the Kīlauea summit eruption start on December 23, 2024, and images are compiled into a timelapse sequence here.

Landsat satellites capture images of the Earth’s surface. While the sensors aboard Landsat capture a wide range of scientifically useful wavelengths, this collection reveals natural color imagery in the red, green and blue parts of the visible spectrum, as if viewed by the naked eye from 438 miles above the surface.

The hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin stole all the headlines. But did you know there was a smaller hydrothermal explosion in Norris Geyser Basin on April 15, 2024? That explosion was detected by a new infrasound sensor installed this past September. Watch to learn more.