Kīlauea

{{short description|Active volcano in Hawaii}} {{For|the town of Kīlauea on Kauai|Kīlauea, Hawaii}} {{good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Kīlauea | image = Episode 4 of Kilauea's December 2024 eruption 2025-01-16.jpg | image_size = 300px | image_alt = | image_caption = Kīlauea erupting at Halemaʻumaʻu, a pit crater within its summit caldera, on January 16, 2025. <!--| elevation_ft = 4091--> | elevation_m = 1247 | elevation_ref = <ref name=ngs>{{cite ngs|pid=TU2382|name=4088}}</ref> <!--| prominence_ft = 50--> | prominence_m = 15.3 | prominence_ref = <ref name="pb">{{cite web | url = http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=11916 | title = Kilauea Prominence | publisher = Peakbagger.com | access-date = May 5, 2018}}</ref> | listing = | range = | parent_peak = | location = Hawai{{okina}}i, United States | map = Hawaii | map_alt = | map_caption = none | map_relief = | map_size = | label = Kīlauea | label_position = left | coordinates = {{coord|19.421097472|N|155.286762433|W|type:mountain_region:US-HI_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = <ref name=ngs/> | topo = | type = Shield volcano, hotspot volcano | volcanic_zone = Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain | age = 210,000 to 280,000 years old<ref name=hvo-kilauea-hist>{{cite web|title=Kīlauea Volcano Erupts in Explosive and Effusive Cycles|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geo_hist_summary.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=15 January 2019|date=19 January 2012|archive-date=June 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618133101/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geo_hist_summary.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> | last_eruption = December 23, 2024 (ongoing, episodic) | first_ascent = | easiest_route = }}

'''Kīlauea''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ˌ|k|ɪ|l|ə|ˈ|w|eɪ|ə|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Kīlauea.wav}} {{respell|KIL|ə|WAY|ə}}, {{IPA|haw|kiːlɐwˈwɛjə|lang}}) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located along the southeastern shore of Hawaii Island. The volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and grew above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Since the islands were settled, it has been the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island and among the most active volcanoes on Earth. The most recent eruption began in December 2024, with episodic lava fountains and flows continuing into 2026.

Kīlauea is the second-youngest product of the Hawaiian hotspot and the current eruptive center of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. Because it lacks topographic prominence and its activities historically coincided with those of Mauna Loa, Kīlauea was once thought to be a satellite of its much larger neighbor. Kīlauea has a large, fairly recently formed caldera at its summit and two active rift zones, one extending {{convert|125|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} east and the other {{convert|35|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} west. An active fault of unknown depth moves vertically an average of {{convert|2|to|20|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} per year.

Between 2008 and 2018, Halemaʻumaʻu, a pit crater located within Kīlauea's summit caldera, hosted an active lava lake. Kīlauea erupted nearly continuously from vents on its eastern rift zone between January 1983 and April 2018, causing major property damage, including the destruction in 1990 of the towns of Kalapana and Kaimū along with the community's renowned black sand beach.

Beginning in May 2018, activity shifted further downrift from the summit to the lower Puna district, during which lava erupted from two dozen vents with eruptive fountains that sent rivers of lava into the ocean in three places. The eruption destroyed Hawaii's largest natural freshwater lake, covered substantial portions of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens, and destroyed the communities of Kapoho, Vacationland Hawaii, and most of the Kapoho Beach Lots.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38346982/where-pele-first-visited-residents-react-to-the-loss-of-a-400-year-old-lake-due-to-lava|publisher=Hawaii News Now|title=Into thin air:Lava flows claim Hawaii's largest lake in a matter of hours|date=June 5, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2018/06/05/hawaii-news/kapoho-beach-lots-vacationland-destroyed-by-lava/|publisher=Hawaii Tribune-Herald|title=Kapoho Beach Lots, Vacationland destroyed by lava|date=5 June 2018}}</ref> The County of Hawaii reported that 716 dwellings were destroyed.<ref name="USGS2018summary">{{cite web |title=Preliminary summary of Kilauea Volcano's 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-192/PrelimSum_LERZ-Summit_2018.pdf |website=US Geological Survey |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> Concurrent with the activity downrift in lower Puna, the lava lake within Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u drained and a series of explosive collapse events occurred at the volcano's summit, with at least one explosion emitting ash {{convert|30,000|ft|m}} into the air. This activity prompted a months-long closure of the Kīlauea section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hawaii-volcano-kilauea-eruption-update-today-2018-05-17-live-stream-updates/|title=Hawaii volcano erupts from summit, shooting plume of ash|date=May 18, 2018 |publisher=CBS News}}</ref> The eruption ended in September 2018.<ref name="USGS2018summary" /> Since 2020, several eruptions have occurred within the enlarged Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the 2018 collapse events as well as along the volcano's southwest and east rift zones.

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==Background== Kīlauea is a Hawaiian word that means "spewing" or "much spreading", referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. Its earliest lavas date back to its submarine preshield stage. Samples were recovered by remotely operated underwater vehicles; samples of other flows were recovered as core samples. Lavas younger than 1,000 years old cover 90 percent of the volcano's surface. The oldest exposed lavas date back 2,800 years.

Radiocarbon and paleomagnetic dating identified a major eruption of Kīlauea around 1410, the first to be mentioned in Native Hawaiians' oral history.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Swanson |first=Donald A. |date=2008-10-01 |title=Hawaiian oral tradition describes 400 years of volcanic activity at Kīlauea |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037702730800187X |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |series=Volcanoes and Human History |language=en |volume=176 |issue=3 |pages=427–431 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.01.033 |bibcode=2008JVGR..176..427S |issn=0377-0273 |via=Elsevier Science Direct|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Western contact and written history began in 1778. The first documented eruption of Kīlauea came in 1823 with repeated eruptions thereafter. Most occurred at the volcano's summit or its eastern rift zone, and were prolonged and effusive. The geological record shows that pre-contact explosive activity was common; in 1790 one such eruption killed more than 400 people, making it the deadliest volcanic eruption in what became the United States.<ref name="1790 eruption">{{cite web|last1=Israel|first1=Brett|title=Kilauea Volcano's Deadliest Eruption Revealed|date=6 December 2011 |url=https://www.livescience.com/17338-hawaii-kilaeua-volcano-explosive.html|publisher=Live Science|access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref>

Kīlauea's eruption from January 3, 1983, to 2018 was by far its longest-duration period of activity in modern times, as well as one of the longest-duration eruptions documented on Earth; as of January 2011, the eruption had produced {{convert|3.5|km3|mi3|0|abbr=on}} of lava and resurfaced {{convert|123.2|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}} of land. Centuries prior to this event, the even larger ʻAilāʻau eruption of 1410 lasted about 60 years, ending in 1470 with an estimated volume of {{convert|4|-|6|km3|abbr=on}}.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Swanson |first1=Donald A. |last2=Rose |first2=Timothy R. |last3=Fiske |first3=Richard S. |last4=McGeehin |first4=John P. |date=2012-02-15 |title=Keanakākoʻi Tephra produced by 300years of explosive eruptions following collapse of Kīlauea's caldera in about 1500CE |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027311003131 |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |language=en |volume=215–216 |pages=8–25 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2011.11.009 |issn=0377-0273|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Kīlauea's activity has a major impact on its mountainside ecology, where plant growth is often interrupted by fresh tephra and drifting volcanic sulfur dioxide, producing acid rains particularly in a barren area south of its southwestern rift zone known as the Kaʻū Desert. Nonetheless, wildlife flourishes left undisturbed elsewhere on the volcano and is highly endemic thanks to Kīlauea's (and the island of Hawai{{okina}}i's) isolation from the nearest continental landmass. Historically, the island's five volcanoes were considered sacred by the Hawaiian people, and in Hawaiian mythology Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u served as the body and home of Pele, goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes.<ref name="Alia Wong">{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/madame-peles-grip-on-hawaii/560102/|title=Madame Pele's Grip on Hawaii|work=The Atlantic|first=Alia |last=Wong|date=11 May 2018|access-date= 11 May 2018}}</ref>

English missionary William Ellis gave the first modern account of Kīlauea and spent two weeks exploring the volcano. Since its foundation by Thomas Jaggar in 1912, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, for many years located on the rim of Kīlauea's summit caldera (Kaluapele), has served as the principal investigative and scientific body on the volcano and the island. In 1916, a bill forming Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. The park is a World Heritage Site and a major tourist destination, attracting roughly 2.6 million visitors annually.

==Geology== ===Setting=== <imagemap> File:Location Kilauea.svg|thumb|Location of Kīlauea on Hawai{{okina}}i island

poly 65 65 97 105 138 126 229 113 236 134 207 171 174 180 151 201 139 237 121 259 97 286 57 261 48 240 56 197 39 159 60 157 85 127 63 90 47 90 54 74 Mauna Loa poly 67 55 66 65 99 106 121 115 140 127 213 116 215 88 186 59 121 33 106 52 Mauna Kea poly 39 158 61 159 85 127 65 89 40 89 20 105 20 122 Hualalai poly 67 54 106 53 120 35 87 20 85 10 63 2 51 6 54 33 Kohala (mountain)

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Like all Hawaiian volcanoes, Kīlauea was formed as the Pacific tectonic plate moved over the Hawaiian hotspot in the Earth's underlying mantle.<ref name="usgs-2007">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1089/Hawaii_expl_pamphlet.pdf|title=Geological Map of the State of Hawaii|first1=David R.|last1= Sherrod|first2= John M.|last2=Sinton|first3= Sarah E. |last3=Watkins|first4= Kelly M.|last4= Brunt|year=2007|publisher=United States Geological Survey|work=Open File report 2007-1089|pages=44–48|access-date=April 12, 2009}}</ref> Hawaii island volcanoes are the most recent evidence of this process that, over 70 million years, has produced the {{convert|6000|km|mi|abbr=on}}-long Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain.<ref name="Watson">{{cite web|last=Watson|first=Jim|title=The long trail of the Hawaiian hotspot|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/Hawaiian.html|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=August 26, 2010|date=May 5, 1999}}</ref> The prevailing view is that the hotspot has been largely stationary within the planet's mantle for much of the Cenozoic Era.<ref name="Watson"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mantleplumes.org/Hawaii.html |title=The Emperor and Hawaiian Volcanic Chains: How well do they fit the plume hypothesis? |last1=Foulger |first1=G. R |last2=Anderson |first2=Don L. |publisher=MantlePlumes.org |date=March 11, 2006 |access-date=April 1, 2009}}</ref> However, while the Hawaiian mantle plume is well understood and extensively studied, the nature of hotspots themselves remains uncertain.<ref>{{Cite book|year=1987|title=Volcanism in Hawaii: papers to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory|editor1-first=Robert W.|editor1-last=Decker|editor2-first=Thomas L.|editor2-last=Wright|editor3-first=Peter H.|editor3-last=Straffer|chapter=The Hawaiian-Emperor Volcanic Chain – Geological Evolution|publisher=Volcano Hazards Team, United States Geological Survey, United States Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|volume=1|series=Professional Paper 1350|chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1987/1350/pp1350_vol1.pdf|page=32|last1=Clague|first1=David A.|last2=Dalrymple|first2=G. Brent|access-date=2012-04-01|archive-date=2012-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010062038/http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1987/1350/pp1350_vol1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Kīlauea is one of five subaerial (originating under water) volcanoes that make up the island of Hawaii, originated from the Hawaiian hotspot.<ref name=hvo-kilauea>{{cite web|title=Kīlauea – Perhaps the World's Most Active Volcano|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=27 January 2012|date=7 May 2009|archive-date=March 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301012054/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The oldest volcano on the island, Kohala, is more than a million years old,<ref name="hvo-kohala">{{cite web| title = Kohala – Hawaii's Oldest Volcano| publisher = Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey| date = 20 March 1998| url = https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kohala/| access-date = 29 January 2012}}</ref> while Kīlauea, the youngest, is between 300,000 and 600,000 years of age.<ref name=hvo-kilauea/> Kamaʻehuakanaloa (the ruddy, reddish child of Kanaloa,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Hawaii Volcano Observatory |date=February 25, 2024 |title=Volcano Watch: Appreciating contributions of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi to volcanology |url=https://mauinow.com/2024/02/25/volcano-watch-appreciating-contributions-of-%ca%bbolelo-hawai%ca%bbi-to-volcanology/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=mauinow.com}}</ref> formerly Lōʻihi), on the island's flank, is younger and has yet to breach the surface.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lo{{okina}}ihi Seamount Hawaii's Youngest Submarine Volcano|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/loihi/|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=30 January 2012|date=26 March 2000}}</ref> Thus Kilauea is the second youngest volcano in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, a chain of shield volcanoes and seamounts extending from Hawaii to the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench in Russia.<ref name="USGS Hotspots">{{cite book|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/hotspots.html|title="Hotspots": Mantle thermal plumes|publisher=United States Geological Survey|edition=1.14|year=1996|isbn=978-0160482205|author1=W. J. Kious |author2=R. I. Tilling}}</ref>

Kīlauea started as a submarine volcano, gradually growing larger and taller via underwater eruptions of alkali basalt lava before emerging from the sea with a series of explosive eruptions<ref name=hov-evolution>{{cite web|title=Evolution of Hawaiian Volcanoes|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1995/95_09_08.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=30 January 2012|date=26 March 1998|archive-date=8 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208161942/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1995/95_09_08.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> about 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Since then, the volcano's activity has produced a continual stream of effusive and explosive eruptions of roughly the same pattern as its activity since records began to be kept.<ref name=hvo-eruptive />

Hawaii island's oldest volcano, Kohala, experienced almost 900,000 years of activity before going extinct.<ref name=hvo-kohala /> Eruptions and explosive activity will make Kīlauea taller, build up its rift zones, and fill and refill Kaluapele.<ref name=hvo-eruptive/>

===Structure=== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 250 | image1 = Kilauea - Landsat mosaic.jpg | caption1 = Simulated true-color Landsat mosaic | image2 = Kilauea ali 2012 01 28.jpg | caption2 = Kīlauea's summit caldera; volcanic gas can be seen rising out of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u, within the caldera (January 2012) }}

Kīlauea has been active throughout its history.<ref name=hvo-eruptive/> Cinder cones, satellite shields, lava tubes, and other eruptive structures are present, evidence of its recent activity.<ref name="osu-landforms" /> Since 1918, Kīlauea's longest pause lasted 18 years between 1934 and 1952.<ref name=soest-hist /> The bulk of Kīlauea consists of solidified lava flows, intermixed with volcanic ash and tephra produced by lower-volume explosive eruptions.<ref name=hvo-eruptive>{{cite web|title=Kilauea: Eruption History|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=30 January 2012|date=2 November 2007|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312044254/https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Much of the volcano is covered in historical flows, while 90 percent of its surface is from the last 1,100 years.<ref name=usgs-hazard>{{cite web|title=Lava Flow Hazard Zone Maps: Kilauea|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/hazards/kilauea.html|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=27 August 2012|author=John Watson|date=July 18, 1997|archive-date=26 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626092618/http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/hazards/kilauea.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Much of its bulk remains underwater;<ref name=hov-evolution/> its subaerial surface is a gently sloping, elongate, decentralized shield with a surface area of approximately {{convert|1500|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}},<ref name=usgs-erz /> making up 13.7 percent of the island's total surface area.<ref name=hvo-kilauea/>

Kīlauea lacks topographical prominence, appearing only as a bulge on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa. Native Hawaiians and early geologists considered it an active satellite of its host. However, lava analysis shows that the two have separate magma chambers. Nonetheless, high activity at one volcano roughly coincides with low activity at the other. When Kīlauea lay dormant between 1934 and 1952, Mauna Loa became active, and when the latter remained quiet from 1952 to 1974, the reverse was true. This is not always the case; the 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa started during an eruption at Kīlauea, but had no discernible effect on the Kīlauea eruption, and the ongoing inflation of Mauna Loa's summit, indicative of a future eruption, began the same day as new lava flows at Kīlauea's Pu{{okina}}u {{okina}}Ō{{okina}}ō crater. In 2002, Kilauea experienced a high-volume effusive episode at the same time that Mauna Loa began inflating. This unexpected communication is evidence of crustal-level interactions between them.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Miklius|first1=Asta|last2=Cervelli|first2=Peter|title=Vulcanology: Interaction between Kilauea and Mauna Loa|journal=Nature|volume=421|issue=6920|page=229|year=2003|doi=10.1038/421229a|pmid=12529631|bibcode=2003Natur.421..229M|s2cid=4340789|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1233225|doi-access=free}}</ref> Geologists suggested that "pulses" of magma entering Mauna Loa's deeper magma system may have increased pressure inside Kīlauea and triggered the concurrent eruptions.<ref name="hvo-loa_kilauea">{{cite web|title=Inflation of Mauna Loa Volcano slows|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|work=Volcano Watch|date=28 January 2003|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/2003/03_01_23.html|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> Mauna Loa began erupting on November&nbsp;27, 2022, during Kīlauea's ongoing eruption, the first time since 1984 that both volcanoes were simultaneously erupting.

==== Kaluapele ==== Kīlauea has a large summit caldera named Kaluapele (the pit of Pele),<ref name=":5" /> measuring {{convert|4|by|3.2|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} with walls up to {{convert|120|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}} high, breached by lava flows on the southwestern side.<ref name="soest-hist" /> The age of Kaluapele is unknown, and it is possible that it has appeared and disappeared multiple times.<ref name="hvo-eruptive" /> Kaluapele likely formed over several centuries, beginning about 500 years ago,<ref name="usgs-pamphlet">{{cite web|title=Geological Map of the Summit Region of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2759/i2759pamphlet.pdf|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=27 August 2012|author1=Christina A. Neal |author2=John P. Lockwood |year=2003}}</ref> while its present form was finalized around 1470–1510 after a particularly powerful eruption from 1410 to 1470.<ref name="hvo-eruptive" /> A major feature within Kaluapele is Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u, a large pit crater and one of Kīlauea's most historically active eruption centers. The crater is approximately {{convert|920|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|85|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep, but its form has varied widely; its floor is mostly covered by flows from its 1974 eruption.<ref name="wisconsin">{{cite web|title=Field Stop 12: Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u Crater|url=http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/Hawaii2005/Day3/HIwebsite/FS12.htm|publisher=University of Wisconsin|access-date=27 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121211114058/http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/Hawaii2005/Day3/HIwebsite/FS12.htm|archive-date=11 December 2012}}</ref>

==== Rift zones ==== Kīlauea has two rift zones radiating from its summit, one leading {{convert|125|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} out to the east, the other {{convert|35|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long and trending towards the southwest.<ref name="hvo-eruptive" /> A series of fault scarps connecting the rift zones form the Koa{{okina}}e Fault Zone. Tectonic extension along them is causing Kīlauea's bulk to slowly slide seaward off its southern flank at a rate of about {{convert|6|to|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} per year, centered on a basal décollement fault {{convert|7|to|9|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} beneath the volcano's surface.<ref name="agu-swrz" /> The eastern rift zone is a dominant feature on the volcano; it is almost entirely covered in lava from the last 400 years, and at its crest near the summit is {{convert|2|to|4|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name="usgs-erz" /> Non-localized eruptions, typical of rift zone activity,<ref name="hvo-eruptive" /> have produced a series of low-lying ridges down the majority of the east rift zone's length.<ref name="usgs-erz">{{cite web|title=Kilauea's east rift zone: an enormous ridge from the summit caldera to the ocean floor|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/gallery/kilauea/erz/erz_overview.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=27 August 2012|archive-date=July 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707083015/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/gallery/kilauea/erz/erz_overview.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its upper segment is the most active section.<ref name="usgs-hazard" /><ref name="usgs-pamphlet" /> It is the site of large pit craters.<ref name="osu-landforms">{{cite web|title=Volcanic Landforms of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park|url=http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/havo.html|publisher=Oregon State University|access-date=28 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708002704/http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/havo.html|archive-date=8 July 2011}}</ref> It reaches down Kīlauea's submerged flank to a depth of more than {{convert|5000|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="usgs-pamphlet" /> By contrast, the much smaller southwestern rift zone last had a rifting episode in 1974, and has not been active in the current eruptive cycle.<ref name="agu-swrz">{{cite journal|title=Inflation along Kilauea's Southwest Rift Zone in 2006|url=http://topex.ucsd.edu/pub/sandwell/ALOS/118_JGVR_Kilauea.pdf|journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research|volume=177|year=2008|pages=418–24|author=D. G. Myer |author2=D. Sandwell |author3=B. Brooks |author4=J. Foster |author5=M. Shimada |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.06.006|issue=2|bibcode=2008JVGR..177..418M}}</ref> The southwestern rift zone's extremity is underwater, although its subaerial length is more limited. The southwestern rift zone lacks a well-defined ridge line and pit craters, evidence that it is less active than the eastern rift zone.<ref name="usgs-pamphlet" />

==== Hilina fault system ==== A prominent structure on Kīlauea's southern flank is the Hilina fault system, an active fault slipping vertically an average of {{convert|2|to|20|mm|in|1|abbr=on|frac=16}} per year.{{Clarify|date=May 2018|reason=is this the range of annual movements in recorded history, or the range of a ten year moving average, or ..?}} Its physiographic province is {{convert|500|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep, but it is unknown whether it is a shallow listric fault or penetrates deeply.<ref name="usgs-2007" />

==Eruptive history== {{see also|List of Kīlauea eruptions}}All historical eruptions occurred at either Kaluapele, the eastern rift zone, or the southwestern rift zone.<ref name="hvo-kilauea" /> Half of Kīlauea's historical eruptions have occurred at or near Kaluapele. Activity there was nearly continuous for much of the 19th century, capped by an explosive eruption in 1924, before petering out by 1934. Later activity mostly shifted to the eastern rift zone, the site of 24 historical eruptions, located mostly on its upper section. By contrast, the southwestern rift zone remained relatively quiet, hosting five events.<ref name="hvo-eruptive" />thumb|right|upright=3.5|Graph summarizing the eruptions of Kïlauea during the past 200 years. The Pu‘u ‘Ö‘ö- Kupaianaha eruption has continued into the 21st century. Information is sketchy for eruptions before 1823, when the first missionaries arrived on the Island of Hawai‘i. The total duration of eruptive activity in a given year, shown by the length of the vertical bar, may be for a single eruption or a combination of several separate eruptions.

===Prehistoric eruptions=== [[File:Rainbow and eruption of Halema`uma`u vent at Kilauea.jpg|thumb|right|Rainbow and volcanic ash with sulfur dioxide emissions from Halemaʻumaʻu (April 2008)]] Geologists dated and documented dozens of major eruptions over the volcano's history, bridging the gap between Kīlauea's oldest known rock and written records and historical observation.<ref name=gvp-dates/> Lava flows are generally recovered by scientists in one of three ways. The oldest flows, 275,000 to 225,000 years ago, were recovered from Kīlauea's submerged southern slope by remotely operated vehicles. These lavas exhibit forms characteristic of early, submerged preshield-stage eruptive episodes, from when the volcano was a rising seamount yet to breach the ocean surface,<ref name=hvo-dates>{{cite web|title=Oldest radiometric ages from Kilauea about 275,000 years|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2007/07_08_23.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=10 September 2007}}</ref> and their surface exposure is unusual, as in most other volcanoes such lavas would have since been buried by later flows.<ref name=usgs-2007 />

The second method is by drilling core samples; however, the cores are difficult to date. Paleomagnetic dating, limited to rocks dating from after Kīlauea's emergence from the sea, suggested ages of around 50,000 years. Exposed flows above sea level are younger. Some of the oldest reliably dated rock is 43,000 years old. It comes from charcoal sandwiched beneath an ash layer on a fault scarp known as Hilina Pali; however, samples dated from higher up the scarp indicate ash deposition at an average rate of {{convert|6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} per thousand years, indicating that the oldest exposed flows, from the base of the feature, could date back as far as 70,000 years.<ref name=hvo-dates/> This date is similar to that of the oldest dated extant lava flow, a southwestern rift zone flow with uncorrected radiocarbon dating of approximately 4650 BC.<ref name=gvp-dates>{{cite web|title=Kilauea: Eruptive history|url=http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1302-01-&volpage=erupt|work=Global Volcanism Program|publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>

The oldest well-studied eruptive product from Kīlauea is the Uwēkahuna Ash Member, the product of explosive eruptions from 800 to 100 BC. Although it was mostly buried by younger flows, it remained exposed in some places, and was traced more than {{convert|20|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from Kaluapele, evidence of powerful eruptions. Evidence suggests the existence of an active eruptive center at this time, termed the Powers Caldera, whose fractures and faults lie {{convert|2|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} outside Kaluapele. At least 1,200 years ago, lava from the Powers Caldera overtopped its rim and solidified the structure; this was followed by a period of voluminous tube-fed ''pāhoehoe'' flows from the summit. Following the end of activity around 1600 CE, eruptions moved to the eastern part of Kīlauea's summit, and concurrently activity increased at the northern end of the eastern rift zone.<ref name=usgs-pamphlet />

===1410 to 1790=== The longest-duration major eruption witnessed by Native Hawaiians took place from about 1410 to 1470. Lasting around 60 years, the {{okina}}Ailā{{okina}}au eruption's effusive flow covered most of Kīlauea, north of the East Rift Zone in what became the Puna District.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Clague |first1=David A. |last2=Hagstrum |first2=Jonathan T. |last3=Champion |first3=Duane E. |last4=Beeson |first4=Melvin H. |date=1999-11-23 |title=Kīlauea summit overflows: their ages and distribution in the Puna District, Hawaii |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s004450050279 |journal=Bulletin of Volcanology |volume=61 |issue=6 |pages=363–381 |doi=10.1007/s004450050279 |bibcode=1999BVol...61..363C |s2cid=129231024 |issn=0258-8900|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Most likely due to the duration of this flow, the summit collapsed around 1470–1510, creating Kaluapele. These discoveries and the collapse of the summit were supplemented by translations of Native Hawaiian chants on the mythology of Pele and Hi{{okina}}iaka; these events were interpreted from this story.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Volcano Watch — Hawaiian oral tradition describes formation of Kīlauea's caldera {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-hawaiian-oral-tradition-describes-formation-kilaueas-caldera |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref>

After arriving in Hawaii, Pele made Kīlauea her home. She sent her sister Hi{{okina}}iaka to retrieve Lohi{{okina}}au, an attractive man she met on Kaua{{okina}}i, on the condition that Pele protect the forests of Puna if Hi{{okina}}iaka returned in 40 days. As the journey lasted longer than 40 days, Pele set fire to the forest. When Hi{{okina}}iaka finally returned with Lohi{{okina}}au and made the smoky discovery, she became angry and made love to Lohi{{okina}}au right in front of Pele. In retaliation, Pele then killed Lohi{{okina}}au before throwing him in a pit on the summit of Kīlauea. Hi{{okina}}iaka started digging ferociously to recover his body, letting rocks fly everywhere.

These events are interpreted to describe the {{okina}}Ailā{{okina}}au flow.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> In addition to Hawaiian oral history, geologists studied and confirmed them with radiocarbon and paleomagnetic dating.<ref name=":2" />

Kīlauea then entered a 300-year period of explosive eruptions from around 1510 to 1790 as discovered by the radiocarbon dating of the Keanakākoʻi (the cave in which adzes were made) Tephra.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Osher |first=Wendy |date=February 25, 2024 |title=Volcano Watch: Appreciating contributions of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi to volcanology |url=https://mauinow.com/2024/02/25/volcano-watch-appreciating-contributions-of-%ca%bbolelo-hawai%ca%bbi-to-volcanology/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=mauinow.com}}</ref> This tephra was formed after lava erupted hundreds of meters into the sky and spread ash across the area.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Geology and History {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geology-and-history |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref>

===1790 to 1934=== The earliest reliable written records date to about 1820,<ref name="footprints" /> and the first eruption well-documented by westerners occurred in 1823.<ref name="hvo-eruptive" /> One pre-contact eruption in particular, a phreatomagmatic event in 1790,<ref name="soest-hist">{{cite web|title=Historical Eruptions of Kilauea Volcano: Summary of Eruptions|url=http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/kil-hist.html|publisher=School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology – Hawaii Center for Volcanology|access-date=26 August 2012|author=Ken Ruben|date=11 May 2005}}</ref> was responsible for the death of a party of warriors, part of the army of Keōua Kuahu{{okina}}ula, the last Hawaii island chief to resist Kamehameha I's rule; their death is evidenced by footprints preserved within the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park - it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="footprints">{{cite journal|author1=D. A. Swanson |author2=J. Rausch |year=2008|title=Human Footprints in Relation to the 1790 Eruption of Kīlauea |publisher=American Geophysical Union|journal=Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union|volume=89|issue=53|page=2022|bibcode=2008AGUFM.V11B2022S}}</ref><!-- In 1825, Admiral Lord Byron, cousin of the famous poet, visited the volcano.<ref name="annual">{{cite book |last=Bloxam |first=Rowland |year=1920 |chapter=Visit of H.M.S. Blonde to Hawaii in 1825 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4I8LAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA66 |title=All about Hawaii: Thrum's Hawaiian Annual and Standard Guide |publisher=Thomas G. Thrum |location=Honolulu |pages=66–82}}</ref> His campsite, still known as "Byron's Ledge" is located at coordinates {{Coord|19|24|54|N|155|15|23|W| type:landmark_region:US-HI| display=inline}}. --> Kīlauea was the site of 61 separate eruptions between 1823 and 2024, making it one of Earth's most active volcanoes.<ref name="hvo-kilauea" /><ref name="soest-hist" />

The volume of lava expelled by Kīlauea varied widely across eruptions. After 1823 Kaluapele gradually filled, filling up under nearly continuous summit eruption, with {{convert|3|km3|mi3|0|abbr=on}} of lava released by 1840. The period between 1840 and 1920 saw approximately half that in lava volume. In the thirty years between then and about 1950, the volcano was unusually quiet and exhibited little activity; Kīlauea's eruptive volume increased steadily thereafter, with activity comparable to that of the early 1800s.<ref name="hvo-eruptive" />

The length and origin of these eruptions varied. Events lasted anywhere between days and years, and occurred at a number of different sites. Activity around Kaluapele was nearly continuous for much of the 19th century, and after a reprieve between 1894 and 1907, continued until 1924.

Effusive eruptions are of relatively recent vintage there. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Kīlauea was the site of regular explosive activity, evidenced by tribal chants.<ref name=hov-explosive />thumb|Painting of the 1891 eruption|left

Kīlauea erupted in 1823 and 1832, but the first major eruption after 1790 occurred in 1840, when its eastern rift zone became the site of a large, effusive Hawaiian eruption over {{convert|35|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of its length, unusually long even for a rift eruption.<ref name="hvo-1840">{{cite web|title=The 1840 Kilauea eruption was big, spectacular, and made the Sand Hills|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106022309/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2003/03_08_28.html|archive-date=2013-01-06|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2003/03_08_28.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=September 3, 2003}}</ref> The eruption lasted for 26 days and produced an estimated 205 to 265<!-- variance between the two sources here --> million cubic meters of lava;<ref name="soest-hist" /> the light generated by the event was so intense that one could reportedly read a newspaper in Hilo at night, {{convert|30|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} away.<ref name="hvo-1840" />

The volcano was active again in 1868, 1877, 1884, 1885, 1894, and 1918,<ref name=soest-hist/> before its next major eruption in 1918–1919. Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u, then a small upwelling in Kaluapele floor, was topped by a lava lake that then drained and refilled, forming a lava lake and nearly reaching the top edge of Kaluapele before draining once more. This activity eventually gave way to the construction of Mauna Iki, building up the lava shield on the volcano's southwest rift zone over eight months. The eruption featured concurrent rift activity and lava fountaining.<ref name=hvo-1919>{{cite web|title=Revisiting the 1919–1920 Mauna Iki eruption|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2010/10_12_23.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=4 January 2011}}</ref>File:Kilauea Halema‘uma‘u May 18 1924.jpg}}<!-- Do not change the spelling of the file! -->|thumb|An explosive eruption column from Halema‘uma‘u crater on May 18, 1924. One of many in May 11–27, 1924.Activity in 1921–1923 followed.<ref name=soest-hist/> The next major eruption occurred in 1924. Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u first drained, then quickly began sinking, deepening to nearly {{convert|210|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} beneath a thick cloud of volcanic ash. Explosive activity began on May 10, blowing out rock chunks weighing as much as {{convert|45|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} {{convert|60|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, and smaller fragments weighing about {{convert|9|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} as far as {{convert|270|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. After a brief reprieve, the eruption intensified through a major blast on May 18, when an enormous explosive event caused the eruption's only fatality. The eruption continued and formed numerous eruption columns above {{convert|9|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} in height, declining and ending by May 28.<ref name=hov-explosive>{{cite web|title=Kilauea: an explosive volcano in Hawaii|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/hazards/explosivepast/|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=July 26, 2005}}</ref><ref name=usgs-1924>{{cite web|title=The 1924 explosions of Kilauea|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1924May18/|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=23 July 2001|archive-date=April 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426232515/https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1924May18/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Volcanic activity was soon confined to the summit, and ended after 1934.<ref name=soest-hist/> From 1823 to 1924, the volcano erupted 15 times, with an additional 11 subsidence events occurring at the summit.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park |author-link=Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park |title=1924 Explosive Eruption of Kīlauea |url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/nature/1924-eruption.htm |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=National Park Service |language=en}}</ref> {{clear}}

===1952 to 1982=== thumb|right|The Mauna Ulu eruption of 1969 generated a {{convert|300|m|ft|-2|adj=on}}-high lava fountain

After the Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u event, Kīlauea remained relatively quiet, and for a time, completely silent, with activity confined to the summit.<ref name=soest-hist/> The volcano came alive again in 1952, with a lava fountain {{convert|245|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} high at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u. Multiple continuous lava fountains between {{convert|15|and|30|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} persisted, and the eruption lasted 136 days.<ref name=hvo-1952>{{cite web|title=The beginning of a new era – Kilauea's 1952 summit eruption|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106012931/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2009/09_06_25.html|archive-date=2013-01-06|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2009/09_06_25.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=June 29, 2009}}</ref> Eruptions followed in 1954, 1955, and 1959, capped by a large event in 1960, when fissure-based phreatic eruption and earthquake activity gave way to a massive {{okina}}''a{{okina}}ā'' flow overran evacuated communities and resorts; the resulting summit deflation eventually caused Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u to collapse even further.<ref name=hvo-1960>{{cite web|title=The 1960 Kapoho Eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1960Jan13/|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=26 August 2012|date=24 May 2000|archive-date=February 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206051719/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1960Jan13/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After 1960 eruptive events occurred frequently until August 2018. The period 1967–1968 saw a particularly large, 80-million-cubic-meter, 251-day event from Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u.<ref name=soest-hist/> In 1969 the marathon Mauna Ulu eruption was an effusive eruption that lasted from May 24, 1969, to July 24, 1974, and added {{convert|230|acre|ha|0}} of land to the island. Afterwards a magnitude 7.2 earthquake caused a partial summit collapse, after which activity paused until 1977.<ref name=hvo-1969>{{cite web|title=The Mauna Ulu Eruption: 1969–1974|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/1994/94_05_27.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106034737/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/1994/94_05_27.html|archive-date=2013-01-06|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=27 August 2012|date=26 March 1998}}</ref> At the time, Mauna Ulu was the longest flank recorded eruption of any Hawaiian volcano. The eruption formed a new vent, covered a large area of land with lava, and enlarged the island. The eruption started as a fissure between two pit craters, {{okina}}Ālo{{okina}}i and {{okina}}Alae, where the Mauna Ulu shield eventually formed. Both ''pāhoehoe'' and ''{{okina}}a{{okina}}ā'' lava erupted from the volcano. Fountains of lava surged as much as 540&nbsp;meters (1772&nbsp;ft) into the air. In early 1973, an earthquake occurred that caused Kīlauea to briefly stop erupting near Mauna Ulu and instead erupt near the craters Pauahi and Hi{{okina}}iaka.<ref name=hvo-1969/>

===1983–2018=== {{main|Puʻu ʻŌʻō|Halemaʻumaʻu}} [[File:Puu Oo cropped.jpg|thumb|Puʻu ʻŌʻō at dusk, June 1983]] Another eruption occurred from January 1983 to September 2018. It had the longest duration of any observed eruption at this volcano. {{As of|2020|12}}, it was the twelfth-longest duration volcanic eruption on Earth since 1750.<ref name="GVPDatabase2020-12">{{cite journal | url=https://volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?question=longesteruptions | title=What volcanoes have had the longest eruptions? | publisher=Smithsonian Institution | journal=Global Volcanism Program — Volcanoes of the World (Version 4.9.2) | editor-last=Venzke | editor-first=E. | date=10 December 2020 | doi=10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013 | access-date=15 December 2020| url-access=subscription }}</ref> The eruption began on January 3, 1983, along the eastern rift zone. The vent produced lava fountains that quickly built up into the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone, sending lava flows downslope.

In 1986, activity shifted down the rift to a new vent, named Kūpa{{okina}}ianahā, where it took on a more effusive character. Kūpa{{okina}}ianahā built up a low, broad volcanic shield, and lava tubes fed flows extending 11 to 12&nbsp;km (about 7&nbsp;mi) to the sea. Between 1986 and 1991, the connection between Chain of Craters Road and Hawaii Route 130 was cut, and the community of Kapa’ahu, the village of Kalapana, and the subdivisions of Kālapana Gardens and Royal Gardens were lost to the lava.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1990Kalapana/|title=USGS: Volcano Hazards Program HVO Kilauea|first=Volcano Hazards|last=Program|website=hvo.wr.usgs.gov|access-date=5 May 2018|archive-date=April 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426230149/https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1990Kalapana/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A black sand beach at Kaimū was engulfed.<ref name="Kaimu">{{cite web | url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/1995/95_12_29.html | title=Hawaii Volcano Observatory – Thirteen Years of Puʻu ʻŌʻō Erupting | publisher=USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory | date=26 March 1998 | access-date=18 July 2015}}</ref> In 1992, the eruption moved back to Puʻu ʻŌʻō, but continued in the same manner, covering nearly all of the 1983–86 lava flows and large areas of coastline.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/multimedia/archive/1998/update980417.html|title=Surges Interspersed Among Steady-state Activity |publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|year=2010|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>

As of the end of 2016, the east rift zone eruption had produced {{convert|4.4|km3|mi3|0|abbr=on}} of lava, covered {{convert|144|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}} of land, added {{convert|179|ha|acre|0|abbr=on}} of land to the island, destroyed 215 structures, and buried {{convert|14.3|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of highway under lava as thick as {{convert|35|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=hvo-1983-summary>{{cite web|title=Puʻu ʻŌʻō and the Current Eruption of Kīlauea|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geo_hist_1983.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=19 June 2018|date=13 April 2012|archive-date=December 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222054314/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geo_hist_1983.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In addition to the nearly continuous activity at Pu{{okina}}u {{okina}}O{{okina}}o and other vents on the east rift zone, a separate eruption began at Kilauea's summit in March 2008. On March 19, 2008, following several months of increased sulfur dioxide emissions and seismic tremor, a new vent opened at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u. Following this event, a new crater formed in the explosion, informally named the "Overlook Crater," emitting a thick gas plume that obscured views into the vent. Explosive events occurred at the vent throughout 2008.<ref name=hvo-2008-summary>{{cite web |title=Chronology of Kīlauea's summit eruption, 2008–2017 |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geo_hist_2008.html |website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – US Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614161205/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/geo_hist_2008.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On September 5, 2008, scientists observed a lava pond deep within the Overlook Crater for the first time. Beginning in February 2010, a lava pond was visible at the bottom of the crater almost continuously through the beginning of May 2018. Lava briefly overflowed the vent onto the floor of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u in April and May 2015, October 2016, and April 2018.<ref name=hvo-2008-summary /><ref>Global Volcanism Program, 2017. Report on Kilauea (United States). In: Venzke, E (ed.), Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 42:8. Smithsonian Institution.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Volcano Watch: A busy time at Kīlauea Volcano's summit and East Rift Zone |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=1362 |website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2018 |date=26 April 2018}}</ref>

====2018 eruptive episodes==== {{Main|2018 lower Puna eruption}} thumb|right|Lava from a fissure slowly advanced to the northeast on Hoʻokupu Street in Leilani Estates subdivision (May 5, 2018) Beginning in March 2018, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory began to detect rapid inflation at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō,<ref>{{cite web |title=Volcano Watch: Do recent changes herald the opening of a new vent on Pu{{okina}}u {{okina}}Ō{{okina}}ō? |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=1361 |website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2018 |date=19 April 2018}}</ref> leading scientists to warn that the increased pressure could form a new vent at Kilauea.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hurley |first1=Timothy |title=Scientists warn of possible new vent and lava flow at Kilauea volcano |url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/04/18/breaking-news/scientists-warn-of-possible-new-vent-and-lava-flow-at-kilauea-volcano/ |access-date=19 June 2018 |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |date=18 April 2018}}</ref>

Following weeks of increased pressure, the crater floor of the cone of Puʻu ʻŌʻō collapsed on April 30, 2018, as magma migrated underground into the lower Puna region of Kilauea's lower east rift zone.<ref name=volcanowatch-2018-05-06>{{cite web|title=Volcano Watch: What a day! Eruptions, earthquakes, and a lower lava lake|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=1363|website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> Over the next few days, hundreds of small earthquakes were detected on Kīlauea's East rift zone, leading officials to issue evacuation warnings. On May 3, 2018, new fissures formed, and lava began erupting in lower Puna after a 5.0 earthquake earlier in the day, causing evacuations of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kilauea-volcano-in-hawaii-could-erupt-after-hundreds-of-small-earthquakes/|title=Kilauea volcano in Hawaii could erupt after hundreds of small earthquakes|website=CBS News |date=May 2, 2018 |access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2018/05/03/hawaii-news/updated-total-evacuation-of-leilani-estates-and-lanipuna-gardens-ordered-after-lava-emerges-from-road/|title=Ige signs emergency proclamation following Leilani lava eruption |publisher= Hawaii Tribune-Herald|website=www.hawaiitribune-herald.com|date=4 May 2018 |access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref>

A seemingly related 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred on May 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000dyad#shakemap|title=M 6.9 – 16km SW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii|website=earthquake.usgs.gov|access-date=2018-05-04}}</ref> By May 9, 27 houses had been destroyed in Leilani Estates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/05/06/breaking-news/lava-continues-to-destroy-homes-upend-lives-in-lower-puna/|title=26 Leilani Estates homes destroyed by lava, county officials say|date=6 May 2018|publisher=Star Advertiser}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/05/09/hawaii-news/new-vents-destroy-another-leilani-estates-home/|title = New vents destroy another Leilani Estates home|date = 9 May 2018}}</ref>

thumb|Kilauea Volcano Fissure 8 captured on May 3rd, 2019 By May 21, two lava flows had reached the Pacific Ocean, creating thick clouds of laze (a toxic lava and haze cloud made up of hydrochloric acid and glass particles).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44195898|title=Hawaiians warned of toxic fumes threat|date=2018-05-21|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-05-21|language=en-GB}}</ref>

By May 31, lava had destroyed 87 houses in Leilani Estates and nearby areas, accompanied by additional evacuation orders, including for the town of Kapoho.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/05/31/hawaii-news/lava-threatens-a-key-escape-route-forces-evacuations/|title=Lava threatens a key escape route, forces evacuations|last=Dayton|first=Kevin|date=May 31, 2018|work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38312659/nearly-4-weeks-after-eruptions-started-more-homes-and-roads-at-risk|title=Ongoing eruption claims at least 87 homes|date=May 30, 2018|work=Hawaii News Now|language=en-US}}</ref> By June 4, the lava had crossed through Kapoho and entered the ocean. The confirmed number of houses lost reached 159,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38344763/lava-claims-dozens-more-homes-as-flow-cuts-its-way-to-the-sea|title=State pledges $12M for lava response as number of homes destroyed rises to 600|date=June 5, 2018|work=Hawaii News Now|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615002827/http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38344763/lava-claims-dozens-more-homes-as-flow-cuts-its-way-to-the-sea|archive-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> then two weeks later, 533,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts/east-rift-zone-eruption-61818-6-am.html|title=Hawaii County Civil Defense,"East Rift Zone Eruption – 6/18/18 6AM"}}</ref> and ultimately 657.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts/east-rift-zone-eruption-mon-625-4pm-update-2.html|title=East Rift Zone Eruption: Mon, 6/25, 4PM – Update 2|date=June 25, 2018|work=County of Hawaii|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626192630/http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts/east-rift-zone-eruption-mon-625-4pm-update-2.html|archive-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>thumb|alt=Two views of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u 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 Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u after the eruptive events of 2018, showing the collapsed crater.|Two views of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u 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 Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u after the eruptive events of 2018, showing the collapsed crater. The lava lake at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u began to drop on May 2.<ref name=volcanowatch-2018-05-06 /> The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory warned that this increased the potential for phreatic (steam) explosions at the summit caused by interaction of magma with the underground water table, similar to the explosions that occurred at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u in 1924. These concerns prompted the closure of Hawai{{okina}}i Volcanoes National Park.<ref>{{cite web|title=Volcano Watch: It's an extraordinary time on Kīlauea Volcano!|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=1364|website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=17 May 2018|date=11 May 2018}}</ref> On May 17, at approximately 4:15&nbsp;a.m., an explosive eruption occurred at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u, creating a plume of ash 30,000 feet into the air.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Hawaii News Now|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38176893/explosive-eruption-at-kilauea-summit-sends-ash-plume-30000-feet-into-air|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518151453/http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38176893/explosive-eruption-at-kilauea-summit-sends-ash-plume-30000-feet-into-air|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 18, 2018|title=Explosive eruption at Kilauea summit sends ash 30,000 feet into air|date=May 18, 2018|language=en}}</ref> This marked the beginning of a series of vigorous explosions that produced significant ash plumes from Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u.<ref>{{cite web |title=Volcano Watch: How to protect yourself from volcanic ash produced by Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u explosions |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=1368 |website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2018 |date=7 June 2018}}</ref> These explosions, accompanied by large earthquakes and inward slumping and collapse within and around Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u, continued until early August.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kilauea Volcano — 2018 Summit and Lower East Rift Zone Brief |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-179/Chronology%20of%20events%202018.pdf |website=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=19 June 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.planet.com/stories/kilauea-caldera-p_5H8jpig Changes in the Kīlauea caldera from May 14 to July 19, 2018] (Planet Labs Inc.)</ref>

===2019–20: Water lake appears at the summit=== In late July 2019, a water lake appeared on the bottom of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u for the first time in over 200 years,<ref name="volcanowatch 2019-08-01">{{cite news |last=Swanson |first=Don |title=Water or no water: that is (or was) the question |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=1423 |access-date=2 November 2019 |work=Volcano Watch |publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey |date=August 1, 2019}}</ref> as water from the rebounding water table began to enter the crater. The crater lake gradually grew in size.<ref name="recently formed">{{cite web|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/12/03/hawaii-news/recently-formed-lake-in-halemaumau-crater-the-largest-in-at-least-200-years/|title=Recently formed lake in Halemaumau Crater the largest in at least 200 years|author=Kevin Dayton|publisher=Star Advertiser|date=December 3, 2019|access-date=August 12, 2020}}</ref> On December 1, 2020, the lake was approximately {{convert|49|m|ft}} deep.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Monthly Update |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2020-12-03T14:32:41-08:00 |website=U.S. Geological Survey |date=December 3, 2020 |access-date=December 21, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054821/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2020-12-03T14:32:41-08:00 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Meanwhile, the temperature of the lake's surface, as measured by a thermal camera, generally measured between {{convert|70–85|C|F}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions About Kīlauea Volcano's Summit Water |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/frequently-asked-questions-about-kilauea-volcanos-summit-water |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> Within a month, the water lake was replaced by a lava lake during the new eruption.

===December 2020 – May 2021 summit eruption=== thumb|View of the eruption from outside Kaluapele, on December 20, 2020 On December 20, 2020, at 9:30&nbsp;pm local time, an eruption broke out within Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that three vents were feeding lava into the bottom of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u Crater, boiling off the water lake that had been growing since summer 2019 and replacing it with a lava lake.<ref>{{cite web |title=USGS Volcanoes |url=https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes/status/1340964823228588032 |access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref> The eruption produced a plume that reached {{convert|30,000.|ft}} in the air. The eruption was preceded by earthquake swarms centered at Kaluapele on November 30, 2020, and December 2, 2020, the second of which was interpreted as a small intrusion of magma.<ref name="2020eruption">{{cite news |last1=Jensen |first1=Chelsea |title=Civil Defense: Kilauea eruption confined to summit, no reports of damage |url=https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2020/12/20/hawaii-news/hvnp-reports-new-eruption-inside-kilaueas-halemaumau/ |work=West Hawaii Today |date=December 20, 2020}}</ref> By the following morning, the eruption had stabilized. Two of the three vents remained active and continued to fill the floor with lava.<ref name="Dec 21 update">{{cite web|url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2020/12/21/video-update-on-new-eruption-at-kilauea/|title=VIDEO: Update On New Eruption At Kīlauea Volcano|publisher=Big Island Video News|date=December 21, 2020|access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref> By 7:30&nbsp;a.m. on December 25, 2020, the lava lake had filled in {{convert|176|m|ft}} of the crater,<ref>{{cite web |title=Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea – December 25, 2020 |url=https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/photo-and-video-chronology-k-lauea-december-25-2020 |publisher=US Geological Survey |date=December 25, 2020}}</ref> On January 8, 2021, depth had increased to {{convert|636|ft|m}},<ref name="Jan 8 update">{{cite web|url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2021/01/08/video-kilauea-eruption-update-2/|title=VIDEO: Kilauea Eruption Update for Friday, Jan. 8|publisher=Big Island Video News|date=January 8, 2021|access-date=January 9, 2021}}</ref> and by February 24 to {{convert|216|m|ft}}. A spatter cone had formed around the western vent.<ref name="Feb 24">{{cite web|url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2021/02/24/kilauea-volcano-eruption-update/|title=Kilauea Volcano Eruption Update|author=|publisher=Big Island Video News|date=February 24, 2021|access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref>

The eruption continued for another few months, with decreasing activity. On May 26, 2021, it was no longer erupting. Lava supply appeared to have ceased between May 11 and May 13, and the lake had crusted over by May 20. The last surface activity in Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u was observed on May 23.<ref name="VNS update 2021-05-27">{{cite web |title=HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE (KILAUEA VOLCANO) |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-05-26T20:19:24-07:00 |website=US Geological Survey |date=May 26, 2021 |access-date=May 27, 2021 |archive-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014092120/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-05-26T20:19:24-07:00 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2021/05/27/video-volcano-alert-level-for-kilauea-downgraded-from-watch-to-advisory/|title=VIDEO: Volcano Alert Level For Kilauea Downgraded From Watch To Advisory|author=|work=Big Island Video News|date=May 27, 2021|access-date=August 3, 2021}}</ref> When activity ceased, the lava lake was {{convert|229|m|ft}} deep.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pau or Paused? What's the difference? |url=https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/volcano-watch-pau-or-paused-what-s-difference |work=Volcano Watch |publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory |date=May 27, 2021}}</ref>

On August 23, 2021, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory raised Kīlauea's alert status from "Yellow/Advisory" to "Orange/Watch" due to an earthquake swarm and a concurrent increase in ground deformation at the summit.<ref>{{cite web|title=USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice —YELLOW/ADVISORY status change to ORANGE/WATCH|url=https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/usgs-hvo-volcanic-activity-notice-yellowadvisory-status-change-orangewatch|access-date=2021-08-24|website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref> The observatory returned Kīlauea's alert status to "Yellow/Advisory" two days later.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice – Thursday, August 26, 2021, 9:44 AM HST |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-08-26T11:56:17-07:00 |access-date=2021-08-26 |website=US Geological Survey |archive-date=August 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826200302/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-08-26T11:56:17-07:00 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===September 2021 summit eruption=== thumb|Eruptive activity within Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u crater in January 2023 The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded increased earthquake activity and changes in ground deformation patterns at Kīlauea's summit at about noon local time on September 29, 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice – Kilauea |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-09-29T18:03:03-07:00 |website=US Geological Survey |date=September 29, 2021 |access-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406224204/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-09-29T18:03:03-07:00 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An eruption began at 3:20&nbsp;p.m. local time when several fissures opened within Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u crater.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-09-29T18:28:16-07:00 |website=US Geological Survey |date=September 29, 2021 |access-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-date=March 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315044422/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/index/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2021-09-29T18:28:16-07:00 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the initial stages of the eruption, lava erupted in fountains more than {{convert|200|ft|m|sp=us}} tall. The fountain heights declined as the level of lava in the crater rose, partially drowning the erupting vents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kilauea alert level lowered |url=https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2021/10/04/hawaii-news/kilauea-alert-level-lowered-2/ |work=West Hawaii Today |date=October 4, 2021}}</ref>

Lava continued to erupt at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u throughout the fall. Overflight measurements from October 5, 2022, indicated that {{convert|111|e6m3|e9gal|sp=us|abbr=unit}} of lava had been effused, and that the floor of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u had risen {{convert|143|m|ft|sp=us}}, since the beginning of this eruption.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kīlauea Volcano crater filling as of September 2022 |url=https://www.usgs.gov/maps/kilauea-volcano-crater-filling-september-2022 |website=US Geological Survey |date=October 13, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Daily Update (Monday, October 10, 2022) |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/view/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2022-10-10T11:37:15-07:00 |website=US Geological Survey |access-date=10 October 2022}}</ref> The eruption paused on December 9, and the alert level was reduced accordingly on December 13, 2022, though seismic activity was still unsettled.<ref>{{cite web |title=Volcano Updates: Kilauea|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/view/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2022-12-13T08:57:08-08:00|website=US Geological Survey |date=December 13, 2022}}</ref>

===2023 summit eruptions=== Eruptive activity within Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u resumed on January 5, 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice (Kilauea) |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans2/view/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2023-01-05T17:23:55-08:00 |website=US Geological Survey |date=January 5, 2023}}</ref> The eruption ended 61 days later on March 7, 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-volcano-kilauea-eruption-pause-43e36ee4524e3374b235ec9e662e5e19 | title=Eruption at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano stops after 61 days | website=Associated Press | date=March 7, 2023 }}</ref>

On June 7, 2023, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in web camera images atop Kilauea, indicating that an eruption had begun in the Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u crater, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-08 |title=Kilauea volcano erupts in Hawaii |url=https://the-news.com.ua/en/single/na-gavaiakh-pochalosia-viverzhennia-vulkana-kilauea |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=the-news.com.ua |language=en |archive-date=September 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918215611/https://the-news.com.ua/en/single/na-gavaiakh-pochalosia-viverzhennia-vulkana-kilauea |url-status=dead }}</ref> The eruptive episode ended after twelve days on June 19, 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/06/19/hawaii-news/kilauea-volcano-eruption-pauses-after-12-days/ | title=Kilauea volcano eruption pauses after 12 days | date=June 20, 2023 }}</ref>

2023's third Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u eruption episode occurred from September 10 to September 16, 2023, when multiple vents opened.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kīlauea – Recent Eruption |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/recent-eruption |website=US Geological Survey |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>

=== 2024–2026 rift and summit eruptions === Shortly after midnight on June 3, 2024, an eruption occurred from a series of fissures on Kīlauea's upper southwest rift zone. The eruption lasted about 8.5 hours.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice {{!}} Kīlauea |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-04-20T08:52:03+00:00 |website=US Geological Survey |date=June 5, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mather |first=Victor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/us/hawaii-volcano-eruption-kilauea.html |title=Kilauea Volcano Erupts on Hawaii's Big Island |website=New York Times |date=June 3, 2024 |access-date=June 3, 2024}}</ref>

A second eruption took place between September 15 and September 20, 2024, near and within Nāpau Crater, a pit crater located in a remote and uninhabited part of the volcano's middle east rift. The eruption had four eruptive phases between September 15 and September 20. The final eruptive activity from a small vent west of Nāpau Crater ended at about 10 AM HST on September 20.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-09-23T17:24:04+00:00 |website=U.S. Geological Survey |date=September 23, 2024}}</ref> [[File:Kilauea episode 42.jpg|thumb|Explosive strombolian lava fountain during Episode 42 on February 15, 2026]]

On December 23, 2024, an eruption began within Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u.<ref>{{cite web |title=HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice |url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-12-23T12:33:19+00:00 |website=U.S. Geological Survey |date=December 23, 2024}}</ref> The eruption continued into 2025, with episodic lava fountains reaching heights of {{convert|600|ft|m|sp=us}} in March 2025,<ref>{{cite web | title=Kīlauea Volcano Eruption Continues into 2025 | date=January 1, 2025 | url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2025/01/01/kilauea-volcano-eruption-continues-into-2025/ |author=|work=Big Island Video News|access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Enormous lava geysers once again erupt from Kīlauea summit as Episode 12 begins| url=https://bigislandnow.com/2025/03/04/enormous-lava-geysers-once-again-erupt-from-kilauea-summit-as-episode-12-begins/ |author=|work=Big Island Now|date=March 5, 2025|access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref> {{convert|1,150|ft|m|sp=us}}, and {{convert|1200|ft|m|sp=us}} in July.<ref>{{cite web | title=VOLCANO WATCH: As Lava Fountains Reach New Heights, Alert Notifications Updated | date=June 1, 2025 | url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2025/06/01/volcano-watch-as-lava-fountains-reach-new-heights-alert-notifications-updated/ |author=|work=Big Island Video News|access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref> That May, the National Park Service reopened the public viewing area at Uēkahuna on the caldera rim, which was the former site of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory facilities and the Jaggar Museum.<ref>{{cite web | title=Kīlauea summit viewing area has reopened in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park - Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (U.S. National Park Service) | url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/20250528-nr-uekahuna-reopens.htm|author=Jessica Ferracane|work=Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park|publisher=National Park Service|date=May 28, 2025|access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref> Episode 35 produced the highest lava fountains observed so far, at heights of {{convert|1,500|ft|m|sp=us}}. Episode 38 of the eruption began on December 6, becoming the most active phase of this eruption so far, with lava flow rates as high as {{convert|1,000–1,200|yd3|m3|sp=us}} per second observed. This was followed by Episode 39 later that month. By the end of the year, Kīlauea had produced a total of {{Convert|53|e9gal|m3}} of lava, from two vents at the southwestern floor of Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u.<ref name="towering fountains">{{cite web|url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/12/24/one-year-fascinating-fountains-kilauea-volcanos-summit/|title=Kilauea's summit eruption reaches one-year milestone with a new episode of towering fountains|author=Anthony Ferreira|work=Hawaii News Now|date=December 24, 2025|access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref>

Kilauea's 40th episode of the eruption that started in December 2024, featuring intermittent high lava fountains, began on the morning of January 12, 2026.<ref>https://bigislandnow.com/2026/01/12/episode-40-of-kilauea-eruption-has-begun/</ref>

Episode 41 was active for 8 hours and 18 minutes on January 24, 2026. Episode 42 lasted just under 10 hours on February 15, 2026. Episode 43 lasted approximately 9 hours on March 10, 2026, and generated significant tephra fall across Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and nearby. The eruption prompted elevated alert levels, road closures, and ashfall warnings as winds carried ash, Pele's hair, and tephra to Puna, Hilo, and the Hamakua Coast.

These paroxysmal eruptions are very similar to the fountaining episodes in Kīlauea Iki in 1959, Mauna Ulu in 1969, and Pu{{okina}}u {{okina}}Ō{{okina}}ō in 1983–1986. They are also quite similar to Etna's paroxysms, in which lava fountains are shot thousands of meters into the sky alongside ash plumes, often feeding fast moving lava flows. The eruption type associated with these events are termed violent strombolian.

==Hazards== In 2018, the USGS National Volcanic Threat Assessment gave Kīlauea an overall threat score of 263, and ranked it the most likely volcano in the United States to threaten lives and infrastructure.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web |last1=Angela K. |first1=Diefenbach |last2=John W. |first2=Ewert |last3=David W. |first3=Ramsey |title=2018 Update to the U.S. Geological Survey National Volcanic Threat Assessment |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2018/5140/sir20185140.pdf |website=USGS |access-date=1 November 2018 |language=en |date=11 October 2018}}</ref>

===Volcanic Explosivity Index=== The Global Volcanism Program assigned a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI; the higher the number, the more explosive) to 90 of Kīlauea's 96 known eruptions of the last 11,700 years. The eruption of 1790 received a VEI of 4.<ref name=VEIdata>{{cite web | url=http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=332010 | title=Global Volcanism Program: Kilauea | publisher=Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History | access-date=8 October 2015}}</ref> The 1983–2018 eruption was marked 3.<ref name="SmithsonianGVP1983-2018">{{cite web | url=https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=332010&vtab=Eruptions | title=Kilauea — Eruptive History | publisher=Smithsonian Institution | work=Global Volcanism Program | access-date=22 December 2018}}</ref> The eruptions of 1820, 1924, 1959 and 1960 received 2s. The eruptions of 680, 1050, 1490, 1500, 1610, 1868 and four eruptions in 1961 scored a 1. The other seventy-four stayed at 0.<ref name=VEIdata/>

{{Bar chart | title = Volcanic Explosivity Index for Kīlauea | label_type = VEI | data_type = Number of Holocene eruptions for which a VEI has been assigned (total=91) | bar_width = 35 | width_units = em | data_max = 80 | label1 = VEI 0 | data1 = 75 | label2 = VEI 1 | data2 = 10 | label3 = VEI 2 | data3 = 4 | label4 = VEI 3 | data4 = 1 | label5 = VEI 4 | data5 = 1 }}

=== Oral traditions === Native Hawaiians have passed down ancient oral traditions surrounding the volcanoes ever since they settled on the islands. These oral histories provide rich cultural and geologic knowledge. In the field of volcanology, the use of oral history emerged from obscurity to become a resource for understanding the eruption history of a given region. While oral history has been used to confirm previously known geologic data, it can be used to assess hazards surrounding an eruption, in addition to guiding the rehabilitation of affected communities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robin. |first=Grattan, John. Torrence |title=Living under the shadow : cultural impacts of volcanic eruptions |date=June 3, 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-42516-0 |oclc=1303320424}}</ref>

Using the oral history of the ''{{okina}}Ailā{{okina}}au'' eruption, volcanologists learned that Kīlauea was much more explosive than previously thought. Given its eruption history, the tradition predicts a long period of explosive eruptions.<ref name=":3"/> Hawaiian chants provided clues that surface water had been found at the summit in earlier times. The story of Pele and Hiʻiaka recorded extensive lava flows, as well as a collapse of Kaluapele in about 1500.<ref name=":5" />

==Ecology== ===Background=== [[File:Kalapana May 2009.jpg|thumb|right|{{okina}}Ōhi{{okina}}a (''Metrosideros polymorpha'') growing on a barren lava field dating from 1986, formerly the village of Kalapana, Hawaii. The myrtle in this picture, taken in 2009, may have since been covered over—fresh flows in 2010 partially re-covered the area.]] Because of its position more than {{cvt|3,000.|km}} from the nearest continental landmass, the island of Hawai{{okina}}i is one of the most geographically isolated landmasses; this strongly influenced its ecology. The majority of the species present on the island are endemic, the result of its isolated lineage sheltered; its ecosystem is vulnerable to invasive species and to human development–an estimated one-third of the island's natural flora and fauna is extinct.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ann K. Sakai |author2=Warren L. Wagner |author3=Loyal A. Mehrhoff |year=2002 |title=Patterns of Endangerment in the Hawaiian Flora |journal=Systematic Biology |pmid=12028733 |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=276–302 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1080/10635150252899770 |doi-access= }}</ref>

Kīlauea's ecological community is further threatened by the volcano itself;<ref name=osu-landforms /> lava flows often overrun and incinerate forest sections, while ash smothers local plant life. Layers of carbonized organic material at the bottom of ash deposits are evidence of this destruction. Parts of the volcano's slopes display the dichotomy between pristine montane forest and volcanic "deserts" yet to be recolonized.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Extinction and recolonization of local populations on a growing shield volcano|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=87|issue=18|pages=7055–57|author1=H. L. Carson |author2=J. P. Lockwood |author3=E. M. Craddock |publisher=United States National Academy of Sciences|pmc=54681|year=1990|doi=10.1073/pnas.87.18.7055|pmid=11607102|bibcode=1990PNAS...87.7055C|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Kīlauea's bulk affects local climate through the influence of trade winds coming predominantly from the northeast, which, when squeezed upwards by the volcano's height, result in a moister windward side and an arid leeward flank. The volcano's ecology reflects its height, and by the distribution of volcanic products, making for varied soil conditions. The northern part of Kīlauea is mostly below {{convert|1000|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} and receives more than {{convert|75|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} mean annual rainfall, and is mostly a lowland wet community; farther south, with precipitation less than {{convert|50|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} mean annual rainfall, is considered mostly a lowland dry environment.<ref name=tma-management>{{cite web|title=Three Mountain Alliance Management Plan December 31, 2007|url=http://hawp.org/_library/documents/three-mountain-alliance/tma%20mgmt%20plan.final.2.pdf|publisher=Three Mountain Alliance|access-date=28 August 2012|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025552/http://hawp.org/_library/documents/three-mountain-alliance/tma%20mgmt%20plan.final.2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Ecosystems=== [[File:Hemignathus virens.jpg|thumb|The {{okina}}amakihi (''Chlorodrepanis virens'') is one of the many birds that live on the volcano's flanks.]] Much of Kīlauea's southern section lies within the national park. It offers ''a{{Okina}}e'' ferns, ''ʻōhiʻa'' trees (''Metrosideros polymorpha''), and ''hapu’u'' of genus ''Cibotium'' are common.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Plants|url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/nature/plants.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref> The park hosts many bird species, including the ''<nowiki/>{{okina}}apapane'' (''Himatione sanguinea''); ''<nowiki/>{{okina}}amakihi'' (''Hemignathus virens''); ''i{{okina}}iwi'' (''Vestiaria coccinea''); ''‘ōma’o'' (''Myadestes obscurus''), ''ʻelepaio'' (''Chasiempis sp.''); and the endangered ''<nowiki/>{{okina}}akepa'' (''Loxops coccineus''), ''<nowiki/>{{okina}}akiapola{{okina}}au'' (''Hemignathus munroi''), ''nēnē'' (''Branta sandvicensis''), ''ʻuaʻu'' (''Pterodroma sandwichensis''), and ''ʻio'' (''Buteo solitarius'') species.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Animals|url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/naturescience/animals.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref> The coast hosts three of the island's nine known critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') nesting sites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Turtles|url=http://www.nps.gov/havo/naturescience/turtles.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211230007/http://www.nps.gov/havo/naturescience/turtles.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 11, 2007|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref>

Some of the area alongside the southwestern rift zone takes the form of the Kaʻū Desert. Although not considered a true desert (rainfall there exceeds {{convert|1000|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} a year), precipitation mixing with drifting volcanic sulfur dioxide forms acid rain with a pH as low as 3.4, greatly hampering plant growth.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5wkzNpqJn8C |editor1=Sara Joy Culver |editor2=Michael E. Steinhaus |title=Let's Go Hawaii: On a Budget |edition=4 |publisher=Macmillan Publishers|year=2006|isbn=978-0-312-36090-0 |page=213|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref> The deposited tephra particulates make the local soil very permeable. Plant life there is practically nonexistent.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2000/pdf/1649.pdf|title=Analyses of Rock Size-Frequency Distributions and Morphometry of Modified Hawaiian Lava Flows: Implications for Future Martian Landing Sites |journal=31st Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference |volume=31 |pages=1649 |author1=Robert A. Craddock |author2=Matthew Golombek |author3=Alan D. Howard |publisher=Lunar and Planetary Institute|year=2000|access-date=29 August 2012|bibcode=2000LPI....31.1649C}}</ref>

Kīlauea's northern lowland wet-forest ecosystem is partially protected by the Puna Forest Reserve and the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve. At {{convert|27785|acre|ha|abbr=on}}, Wao Kele o Puna is Hawai{{okina}}i's largest lowland wet forest reserve, and is home to rare plant species including ''hāpu{{okina}}u'' ferns (''Cibotium'' spp.), ''<nowiki/>{{okina}}ie{{okina}}ie'' vines (''Freycinetia arborea''), and ''kōpiko'' (''Psychotria mariniana''), some of which play a role in limiting invasive species' spread. ''{{okina}}Ope{{okina}}ape{{okina}}a'' (''Lasiurus cinereus semotus'') ''{{okina}}io'' (''Buteo solitarius''), common ''{{okina}}amakihi'' (''Hemignathus virens''), and ''nananana makaki{{okina}}i'' (''Theridion grallator'') live in the trees. Many more as-yet-undocumented species are thought to lie within the forest.<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|title=Energy Project Imperils a Rain Forest|author=Timothy Egan|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9C0CE3D61431F935A15752C0A966958260&n=Top%2fNews%2fScience%2fTopics%2fGeothermal%20Power |work=The New York Times|date=26 January 1990|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref><ref name=sg>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacredland.org/index.php/wao-kele-o-puna/|title=Wao Kele O Puna|author=Ashley Tindall|date=1 September 2007|access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref> Wao Kele's primary forest tree is ''{{okina}}ōhi{{okina}}a lehua'' (''Metrosideros polymorpha'').<ref name=hsb2001>{{cite web|url=http://starbulletin.com/2001/04/13/business/story1.html|title=Campbell Estate selling half of land holdings|author=Tim Ruel|publisher=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|date=4 April 2001|access-date=29 August 2012|archive-date=February 4, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060204220128/http://starbulletin.com/2001/04/13/business/story1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{clear}}

==Human history== ===Ancient Hawaiian=== The first Ancient Hawaiians to arrive on Hawaii island lived along the shores, where food and water were plentiful.<ref name=nasa-outrigger>{{cite web|title=Final Environmental Statement for the Outrigger Telescopes Project: Volume II|url=http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Outrigger/finalDocuments/fullDocument/OTP-FEIS-Volume-II.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421000952/http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Outrigger/finalDocuments/fullDocument/OTP-FEIS-Volume-II.pdf|archive-date=21 April 2009|publisher=NASA|access-date=4 September 2012|page=C–9|url-status=dead|date=February 2005}}</ref> Flightless birds that had previously known no predators became a staple food source.<ref name=haw-culture>{{cite web|title=Culture: The First Arrivals: Native Hawaiian Uses|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/maunakea/5_culture.pdf|work=Mauna Kea Mountain Reserve Master Plan|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi|access-date=2 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011113028/http://www.hawaii.edu/maunakea/5_culture.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref> Early settlements had a major impact on the local ecosystem, and caused many extinctions, particularly bird species, while introducing foreign plants and animals and increasing erosion rates.<ref name=ps-1982>{{cite journal|last=Kirch|first=Patrick V.|title=The Impact of the Prehistoric Polynesians on the Hawaiian Ecosystem|journal=Pacific Science|date=January 1982|volume=36|issue=1|pages=1–14|url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/406|access-date=2 September 2012|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|hdl=10125/406}}</ref> The prevailing lowland forest ecosystem was transformed from forest to grassland; some caused by their use of fire, but the main cause appears to have been the Polynesian rat (''Rattus exulans'').<ref>{{cite journal|last=Athens|first=Stephen|author2=Tuggle, H. David|author3=Ward, Jerome V.|author4=Welch, David J.|year=2002|title=Avifaunal Extinctions, Vegetation Change and Polynesian Impacts in Prehistoric Hawai{{okina}}i|journal=Archaeology in Oceania|volume=37|issue=2|pages=57–78|url=https://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=C6A3E763540A70D4D8429AF57BF5D92C.inst1_1a?docId=5002488775|access-date=4 September 2012|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4453.2002.tb00507.x|archive-date=June 5, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120605041612/http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=C6A3E763540A70D4D8429AF57BF5D92C.inst1_1a?docId=5002488775|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The summits of the island's volcanoes are revered as sacred mountains. In one Hawaiian mythology, sky father Wākea marries earth mother Papa, giving birth to the islands.<ref name=haw-culture/> Kīlauea itself means "spewing" or "much spreading" in Hawaiian,<ref name=hvo-kilauea /> and Kīlauea is the body of the deity Pele, goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1659/0276-4741(2006)26[304:SMTAT]2.0.CO;2 |author=Edwin Bernbaum|date=November 2006|title=Sacred Mountains: Themes and Teachings |journal=Mountain Research and Development|publisher=International Mountain Society|volume=26|issue=4|pages=304–09|s2cid=130388248|doi-access=free}}</ref> The conflict between Pele and the rain god Kamapua{{okina}}a was centered there; Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u, "House of the {{okina}}ama{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u fern", derives its name from the struggle between the two gods. Kamapua{{okina}}a, hard-pressed by Pele's ability to make lava spout from the ground at will, covered the feature, a favorite residence of the goddess, with fern fronds. Choked by trapped smoke, Pele emerged. Realizing that each could threaten the other with destruction, the other gods called a draw and divided the island between them, with Kamapua{{okina}}a getting the moist windward northeastern side, and Pele directing the drier Kona (or leeward) side. The rusty singed appearance of the young fronds of the {{okina}}ama{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u are said to be a product of the legendary struggle.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martha B. Luomala|title=Hawaiian Mythology|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|location=Honolulu|isbn=978-0824805142|date=February 1977|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/hawaiianmytholog00beck}}</ref><ref name="haw-culture" />

===Modern era=== thumb|right|500px|Students collecting GPS data for the USGS in Kīlauea's eastern rift zone in 2015 The first foreigner to arrive at Hawaii was James Cook in 1778.<ref name=uh-2009>{{cite web|title=Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan: UH Management Areas|url=http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/occl/mauna-kea-management-plan/comprehensive-management-plan|author=Institute for Astronomy – University of Hawaiʻi|publisher=Hawaiʻi State Department of Land and Natural Resources|access-date=2 September 2012|date=January 2009}}</ref> The first non-native to observe Kīlauea in detail was William Ellis, an English missionary who in 1823 spent more than two weeks trekking across the volcano. He collated the first written account of the volcano and observed many of its features.<ref name=hvo-first>{{cite web|title=The first written account of Kilauea|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/1997/97_08_01.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=2 September 2012|date=1 August 1997}}</ref> {{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832/The Volcano of Ki-Rau-E-A|The Volcano of<br>Ki-Rau-E-A,<br>a poetical illustration<br>by L. E. L.}} Another missionary, C. S. Stewart, U.S.N., wrote of it in his journal ''A Residence in the Sandwich Island'', which Letitia Elizabeth Landon quoted from in the notes to her poetical illustration to an engraving of a painting by William Ellis after F Howard, ''The Volcano of Ki-Rau-E-A'' in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832.<ref>{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=8MpcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA24|section=poetical illustration|page=24|year=1831|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=8MpcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PT3|section=picture|year=1831|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}</ref>

One of the earliest and most important surveyors of Kīlauea was James Dwight Dana, who studied and wrote about the island's volcanoes for decades first-hand.<ref>{{Cite journal| title=Missionary Contributions to Hawaiian Natural History: What Darwin Didn't Know |publisher=Hawaiian Historical Society, Honolulu |author=E. A. Kay |pages=27–51 |hdl=10524/170 |journal=Hawaiian Journal of History |volume=31 |year=1997 }}</ref> Dana visited Kīlauea's summit in 1840.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Classics of Science: Dana Describes Kilauea|journal=The Science News-Letter|volume=15|issue=426|pages=359–60|author=James D. Dana|publisher=Society for Science and the Public|doi=10.2307/3905498|year=1929|jstor=3905498|author-link=James Dwight Dana}}</ref> After publishing a summary paper in 1852, he directed a detailed geological study of the island in 1880 and 1881. He did not consider Kīlauea a separate volcano, instead referring to it as a flank vent of Mauna Loa; geologist C. E. Dutton elaborated on Dana's research during an 1884 expedition. His work led Kīlauea to be accepted as a separate entity.<ref name="USGS-dw">{{Cite book|year=1987|title=Volcanism in Hawaii: papers to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory|editor=R. W. Decker|publisher=United States Geological Survey|volume=1|series=United States Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1350|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1987/1350/pp1350_vol1.pdf|access-date=2 September 2012|display-editors=etal|archive-date=10 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010062038/http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1987/1350/pp1350_vol1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|154–155}}

=== Hawaiian Volcano Observatory === thumb|Steam venting from fissures inside Kaluapele, October 2022 The next era of Kīlauea's history began with the establishment of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1912. The first permanent such installation in the United States, the observatory was the brainchild of Thomas Jaggar, head of geology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After witnessing the devastation of the 1908 Messina earthquake near Mount Etna in Italy, he declared that systematic volcanic and seismic study was required, and chose Kīlauea as the initial site.

After securing funding from MIT and the University of Hawaiʻi, Jaggar served as director of the observatory between 1912 and 1940. He pioneered seismological and observational study and observation of the volcano.<ref>{{cite web|title=The origin of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory|url=http://ptonline.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_64/iss_5/32_1.shtml?bypassSSO=1|publisher=Physics Today –American Institute of Physics|access-date=4 September 2012|author=John Dvorak|date=May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130223100519/http://ptonline.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_64/iss_5/32_1.shtml?bypassSSO=1|archive-date=23 February 2013}}</ref> After initial funding ran out, the Observatory was funded by the National Weather Service, USGS, and the National Park Service in turn. USGS reclaimed the observatory and funded it after 1946. The main building was moved twice since establishment, and the facility on the northwest rim of Kaluapele served until 2018 when it was damaged beyond repair by volcanic activity, and the buildings were torn down in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/observatory/hvo_history.html|publisher=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – United States Geological Survey|access-date=4 September 2012|author=Russell A. Apple|date=January 4, 2005|archive-date=14 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614054515/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/observatory/hvo_history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/management/jaggar-museum.htm|title=Jaggar Museum - Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref>

NASA used the area to train Apollo Astronauts in recognizing volcanic features, planning traverses, collecting samples and taking photographs. Training took place in April 1969, April 1970, December 1970, December 1971, and June 1972. Astronauts of Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 used this training on the Moon. Notable geologist instructors included William R. Muehlberger.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Phinney |first1=William |title=Science Training History of the Apollo Astronauts |date=2015 |publisher=NASA SP −2015-626 |pages=233–234, 236, 240–241, 249–250, 252–253}}</ref>

==Research== In October 2019, January 2020, and December 2020, USGFS volcanologists used a drone to study gases inside the water lake at the summit, as it was too dangerous for humans to approach. After the lake boiled away, they used the drone to study the resulting gas plumes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dalton |first1=Louisa |title=How to Pack for Sampling Earth's Hottest Pockets: Adventurous scientists traverse hellish landscapes in Iceland, Turkmenistan, and Hawaii |journal=ACS Chemical Health & Safety |date=November 7, 2022 |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=469–473 |doi=10.1021/acs.chas.2c00081 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 2022, researchers reported that Kīlauea's seismic waves could be used to predict future outbreaks. These waves can last for tens of seconds. After the 2007 eruption ended, they analyzed thousands of events from seismic sensors, GPS stations, and lake height observations, including variables such as temperature and gas bubble density. They reported that magma temperature was associated with seismic signal duration and bubble quantity and composition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=SAVITSKY |first=ZACK |date=1 June 2022 |title='singing' lava lakes could help predict when volcanoes will blow |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/singing-lava-lakes-could-help-predict-when-volcanoes-will-blow |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=www.science.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Tourism== {{see also|Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park}}

[[File:Kilauea Iki, Kilauea, Haemaumau, and Mauna Loa.jpg|thumb|right|View from the edge of Kilauea Iki: across Kaluapele, Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u is emitting fume on the left side of Kaluapele, while Mauna Loa towers above in the background (March 2013)]] Kīlauea became a tourist attraction in the 1840s, and businessmen such as Benjamin Pitman and George Lycurgus operated a series of hotels at the rim, including Volcano House, which is the only hotel or restaurant located within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Volcano House|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hawaii-notes/vol5-2d.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=4 September 2012|date=24 March 2006|orig-year=Originally published November 1953|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023123557/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hawaii-notes/vol5-2d.htm|archive-date=23 October 2012}}</ref>

In 1891, Lorrin A. Thurston, investor in hotels along the volcano's rim, began campaigning for a park, boosting an idea proposed by William Richards Castle, Jr. in 1903. Thurston, who owned the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, printed editorials in favor of the idea; by 1911 Governor Walter F. Frear had proposed a draft bill to create "Kilauea National Park". Following endorsements from John Muir, Henry Cabot Lodge, and former President Theodore Roosevelt (in opposition to local ranchers) and several legislative attempts introduced by delegate Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, House Resolution 9525 was signed into law by Woodrow Wilson on August 1, 1916. It was the country's 11th National Park, and the first in a Territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hawaii-notes/vol5-2h.htm |title=The Final Thrust |publisher=National Park Service |date=November 1953 |access-date=12 October 2012 |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023123640/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hawaii-notes/vol5-2h.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Originally called "Hawaii National Park", it was split from Haleakala National Park on September 22, 1960. Today, the park, renamed the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, is a major conservatory agency and tourist attraction, and, since 1987, a World Heritage Site.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Volcanoes National Park |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/409 |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=12 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119121217/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/409 |archive-date=19 November 2005}}</ref>

Hawaii tourism grew slowly before exploding with the advent of jet airliner travel around 1959. Kīlauea, as one of the few chronically erupting volcanoes, was a major part of the island's tourist draw.<ref name=nps-park>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Hawaii Island, Hawaii|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/cultural_diversity/Hawaii_Volcanoes_National_Park.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906044500/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/cultural_diversity/Hawaii_Volcanoes_National_Park.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 6, 2012|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=12 October 2012}}</ref> According to the National Park Service, Kīlauea is visited by roughly 2.6 million people annually.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kīlauea Visitor Center |url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/kvc.htm |website=National Park Service |access-date=11 February 2020}}</ref>

The Thomas A. Jaggar Museum was a popular tourist stop. Located at the edge of Kaluapele, the museum's observation deck offered the best sheltered view on the volcano of the activity at Halema{{okina}}uma{{okina}}u; however, the museum was closed permanently after the building sustained structural damage from earthquakes associated with the 2018 eruptions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jaggar Museum Exhibits May Find a New Home in Pahoa |url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/20180905_pr_jaggar_museum_exhibits.htm |website=National Park Service |access-date=11 February 2020}}</ref> thumb|Glowing lava at sunset, seen from near Volcano House, October 2022 Volcano House provides lodging within the park, while additional housing options are available in the Volcano Village.

Visitors associated with the military can find lodging at the Kilauea Military Camp. The park provides hiking trails, points of interest, and guided ranger programs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kilauea Visitor Center|url=https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/kvc.htm|publisher=National Park Service|date=18 October 2012|access-date=22 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Trip Planner|url=http://www.nps.gov/havo/upload/Trip_Planner_2012_ver0118.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227163833/http://www.nps.gov/havo/upload/Trip_Planner_2012_ver0118.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2012|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=22 October 2012}}</ref> The Crater Rim Trail around the volcano is designated as a National Recreation Trail.<ref name="nrt">{{cite web |title=Crater Rim Trail |url=https://www.nrtapplication.org/trails/crater-rim-trail |website=NRT Database |access-date=August 20, 2024}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Volcanoes|Hawaii}} * List of volcanoes in the United States * Fagradalsfjall * Krafla * Masaya Volcano * Mount Etna * Erta Ale * Mount Nyiragongo

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite journal | last1 = MacQueen | first1 = P | year = 2011 | title = Forward modeling to access and improve gravity network geometry at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii | journal = Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 24–44 | doi=10.5399/uo/ourj.1.1.1551| doi-access = free | hdl = 1794/23367 | hdl-access = free }} *{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Geologic map of the summit region of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2759/ |year=2003 |scale=1:24,000 |series=Geologic Investigations Series I-2759 |access-date=2010-08-09 }} *{{cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Geologic map of the middle east rift geothermal subzone of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii |url=http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/LPS77789/2614map_508.pdf |edition=1.0 |year=2006 |scale=1:24,000 |series=Geologic Investigations Series I-2614 |access-date=2010-08-09 |isbn=1-4113-0659-7 }}

==External links== {{commons}} *{{Britannica|317653|Kilauea}} *{{cite gvp|vnum=332010|title=Kilauea}} *[https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's Kīlauea website] *[https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/multimedia/webcams Live webcams of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa] *[https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149815/kilaueas-lava-lake-persists USGS updates on Kilauea's Lava (and water) lakes], May 11, 2022 *[https://www.nps.gov/havo/ Hawai{{okina}}i Volcanoes National Park website] *[http://www.higp.hawaii.edu/hggrc/ Hawaii Groundwater & Geothermal Resources Center by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa] *[http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/21320 The Geothermal Collection by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa] *[http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2011/03/09/video-the-man-behind-global-hawaiian-volcano-eruption-video/ Video footage of the March 2011 Kamoamoa Fissure Eruption and the collapse of Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater] *[https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information U.S. Geological Survey Kilauea Information Page] {{Hawaiian volcanism}} {{NRHP in Hawaii Volcanoes NP}} {{portal bar|Volcanoes|Hawaii|Mountains|Geography}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilauea}} * Category:Active volcanoes Category:Volcanoes of the Island of Hawaii Category:Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Category:Mountains of Hawaii Category:Shield volcanoes of the United States Category:Calderas of Hawaii Category:Polygenetic shield volcanoes Category:Holocene volcanoes Category:Holocene Oceania Category:Cenozoic Hawaii Category:VEI-4 volcanoes Category:National Recreation Trails in Hawaii Category:Articles containing video clips