Kīlauea

For the town of Kīlauea on Kauai, see Kīlauea, Hawaii.

Kīlauea is an active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It is a shield volcano. The volcano is 1,277 meters high. Kīlauea is a large lake of lava. The crater of Kīlauea is named Pu'u'O'o. The first eruption of Kīlauea is estimated as 300 to 600 thousand years ago. Its first recorded eruptions were in 1823. Its most recent eruption was March 3 2018. It is still erupting now. The Hawaiian name Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading". It refers to the constant flow of lava. Kīlauea lies on the curve of volcanoes on the island of Hawaii that includes Mauna Loa and Kohala. The volcano of Kīlauea is one of the youngest and also is said to be the home of an ancient volcano goddess Pele. The oldest dated rocks are said to be about 23,000 years old. It has its own magma plumbing under the Earth that goes down under the Earths crust by 60 km. Kīlauea has a basalt-based lava rock type hot-spot.

In May 2018, the volcano erupted causing damage in nearby homes and streets.

Kilauea Media

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  Graph summarizing the eruptions of Kïlauea during the past 200 years. The Pu‘u ‘Ö‘ö- Kupaianaha eruption has continued into the 21st century.

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  Rainbow and volcanic ash with sulfur dioxide emissions from Halemaʻumaʻu (April 2008)

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  Kīlauea's upper sulphur bank; painting by British geologist James Gay Sawkins, 1855

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  Painting of the 1891 eruption

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  The Mauna Ulu eruption of 1969 generated a 300-metre (1,000 ft)-high lava fountain

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  Puʻu ʻŌʻō at dusk, June 1983

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  Lava from a fissure slowly advanced to the northeast on Hoʻokupu Street in Leilani Estates subdivision (May 5, 2018)

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  Kilauea Volcano Fissure 8 captured on May 3rd, 2019

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  Two views of Halemaʻumaʻu from roughly the same vantage point. At left is the view from 2008, with a distinct gas plume from the Overlook vent, the location of what would become a long-lived lava lake. At right is a view of Halemaʻumaʻu after the eruptive events of 2018, showing the collapsed crater.

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  View of the eruption from outside the summit caldera, on December 20, 2020

• Eruptive activity within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in January 2023