The Jaggar Museum sits on top of the Kilauea Caldera. There is a tremendous view of the Halema' Uma'u Crater which sits inside the much bigger Kilauea Caldera. In 1790 and 1924 two eruptions exploded hurling 8 ton blocks of rock one kilometer away creating the craters we see today. The Halema' Uma'u Crater emits several hundred tons of sulfur each day that gets distributed by wind all over the island.

The magma chamber of Kilauea is located directly below the Jaggar Museum and the Craters. This magma is flowing sideways in an underground lava tube out to the ocean which is approximately 35 miles away (the lava tube continues to into the ocean about 50 miles).

Thomas Augustus Jaggar began the museum in the early 20th Century to help predict the earthquakes and eruptions. Today much of the work done by the USGS is done here. The volcanists, seismologists, geocheists, and geophysists monitor seismic activity, volcanic activity, gather and analyze data, and conduct experiments. Today the USGS can more accurately forcast eruptions.