By Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
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The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory spearheads Volcano Awareness Month each January on the Island of Hawaii. This year, in addition to in-person talks and walks around the island, we hosted an art and poetry contest, and we are pleased to announce the winners in today’s Volcano Watch article!

Participants were invited to submit a poem in haiku format or art recognizing Hawaii’s volcanic landscapes in the following age divisions: elementary (kindergarten–5th grade), middle (6th–8th), high (9th–12th), and adult. Nearly 60 entries were received, most from kama‘aina.

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Beautiful depictions in words and art highlight the diverse range of geologic processes and hazards we experience as residents in Hawaii, including the most recent episodic eruption in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit caldera of Kilauea. Many entries also reference Pele, the Hawaiian elemental forces associated with volcanic activity, highlighting the cultural significance of Hawaii’s volcanic history.

In the elementary school category, Sunny Mallams, a 4th grader who lives in Honolulu, won with her haiku, “Mahalo Pele:”

Lava shining bright

Giving birth to Hawaii

Mahalo Pele

“Pele’s Domain,” a haiku by 6th grader Austin Kesterson, who lives on Oahu, won in the middle school category:

Boom! Pele is here

Her hair rises through the sky

Fiery lava flows

Ella Hillstead, a high schooler from San Francisco, California, won the high school haiku with “The Harmony of Hawaii:”

Waves lap, sun sets on

Board basalt plains of land forged

By Pele’s fire

Travis Paradea won the adult haiku category with the haiku below:

You take your shoes off

When you enter someone’s home

Even for Pele?

In the adult art category, Linda Hansen from Pahoa, submitted a painting titled “Kilauea welcomes Christmas 2024.” She wrote, “Kilauea gave us a brilliant show on December 23, 2024, as the caldera began to glow. The glow illuminated the walls of the caldera as the plumes of gas rose into the predawn sky.”

Students from Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary School won in the high and middle school art categories. Añaza Nielsen, in 11th grade, won with their colored pencil artwork titled “Volcanic Activity,” which they wrote depicts the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption. “This artwork represents the thermal camera view of the flowing rivers of lava coming down Mauna Loa. This artwork was inspired by seeing the glow of the eruption from my home during the night. This is represented through the colors I chose for this artwork.”

Andrea Yanga, an 8th grader, painted the winning middle school art, “Lava Flow,” using watercolors and ink. She wrote that it shows “an ancient eruption of Mauna Loa where the lava flowed from the mountain to the sea. The glow rises from the vapors of the lava touching the waters of the ocean. The artwork represents the beauty and radiance of these rivers of lava that formed Hawaii island.”

Milunaizarra Peltier, a 5th grader from Volcano School of Arts &Sciences, won the elementary art division with her construction paper artwork depicting a lava lake. She wrote, “I drew a lava pond because people don’t draw lava ponds as much.”

The votes were very close in many categories, and we appreciate every wonderful entry. Winners and a selection of other contestants will be on display at a scientific conference in Hilo during the second week of February. The conference theme is caldera-forming eruptions at basaltic volcanoes, such as what occurred at Kilauea in 2018.

Gro Pederson, a geologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Iceland (and former USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory volunteer) will be giving a special After Dark in the Park presentation at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park while here for the conference. Join Gro at 7 p.m. HST on Feb. 6 at the Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium, as she summarizes several eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Southwest Iceland since 2021. Volcanic activity in Iceland, monitored by the Iceland Metrological Office, has hazards similar to those in Hawaii: earthquakes, opening of new fissure systems, lava flows, tephra fall, volcanic gas emissions, and land subsidence.

HVO voters were impressed and delighted by every entry in the art and poetry contest; mahalo again to everyone who participated in Volcano Awareness Month on the Island of Hawai‘i in January 2025!

Volcano activity updates

Kilauea is erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert level is WATCH.

The summit eruption at Kilauea volcano that began in Halema‘uma‘u crater on December 23 continued over the past week, with two eruptive episodes (6 and 7). Episode 6 was active from January 24 evening until the afternoon of January 25 and episode 7 was active from the evening of January 27 until the morning of January 28. Kilauea summit has been inflating since episode 7 ended. Resumption of eruptive activity is possible within days if summit inflation continues at current rate. Sulfur dioxide emission rates are elevated in the summit region during active eruption episodes. No unusual activity has been noted along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert Level is at NORMAL.

Three earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week: a M2.3 earthquake 11 km (6 mi) ENE of Pahala at 32 km (20 mi) depth on Jan. 28 at 10:13 a.m. HST, a M3.2 earthquake 2 km (1 mi) SW of Pahala at 33 km (20 mi) depth on Jan. 28 at 8:11 a.m. HST, and a M2.6 earthquake 7 km (4 mi) W of Captain Cook at 6 km (4 mi) depth on Jan. 23 at 5:15 a.m. HST.

HVO continues to closely monitor Kilauea and Mauna Loa.

Please visit HVO’s website for past Volcano Watch articles, Kilauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information, and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.