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Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted beginning Sunday (Dec.20) night local time, with dramatic lava fountains and huge puffs of gas and steam being launched from the summit crater called Halemaʻumaʻu, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO), part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), reported. Though the shield volcano is one of Earth’s most active volcanoes, constantly spewing lava from its fissures, the recent eruption is much more dramatic than the «background» streams of lava that consistently flow from volcanic cracks. «For the past several weeks, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has recorded ground deformation and earthquake rates at Kilauea Volcano’s summit and upper East Rift Zone that have exceeded background levels,» since a 2018 eruption, the observatory said in a statement Sunday.
