Visit the Vault at Volcano House

The Whitney Seismological Laboratory was established in 1912, the year that Dr. Thomas Jaggar founded the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Constructed as the basement of the original HVO building, it followed plans provided by Professor Fusakichi Omori, who invented the Omori Seismometer to detect earthquakes. Instruments in the Whitney Vault, some of which remain preserved there today, were the first to record earthquakes in Hawaii. The Whitney Vault is the only remnant of the original HVO structures, but HVO’s volcano monitoring network has grown to more than 200 instruments located across the Island of Hawaiʻi. With frequent eruptions and earthquakes in Hawaii, HVO is at the forefront of developing and testing new tools to monitor earthquakes, ground deformation, volcanic gas emissions, gravity, volcanic plumes and lava flows. Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicists Ingrid Johanson and Ashton Flinders as they describe the history of HVO volcano monitoring, showcasing old and new technologies in the Whitney Vault, located beneath the ground near the present-day Volcano House Hotel.

When: 10 a.m.

Where: Volcano House Overlook

Note: This program is limited to 20 participants. Tickets will be available first come first serve at 9 a.m. on January 27, at the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park temporary visitor center, located in the Kīlauea Military Camp Koa room (99-252 Crater Rim Drive, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, 96718)

Fees

Free event; park entrance fees apply

Location

Latitude and Longitude 19.428715, -155.258317

Schedule

Contact Information

Interpretation and Education
808-985-6011
Contact Us

Event Type

• Partner Program
• Talk