Kilauea

Current Activity

Kilauea eruption update:

Kilauea volcano (Hawai'i) activity update

Saturday, Apr 20, 2013

The eruption has not changed significantly over the past weeks, with continuing activity in both the summit lava lake and lava flows on the rift zone, reaching the sea. ... [more]

Kilauea volcano (Hawai'i): activity summary 10-16 April 2013

Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013

During 10-16 April HVO reported that the circulating lava lake periodically rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater. The plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash, spatter, and Pele's hair onto nearby areas. ... [more]

Satellite photo of Kilauea volcano, showing the summit caldera and parts of its east rift zone with the active vent Pu'u 'O'o.

Three-dimesional view of Kilauea volcano based on satellite imagery.

Map of Kilauea volcano, Big Island Hawai'i

Kilauea volcano

Shield volcano 1277 m (4,190 ft)
Hawai'i, 19.43°N / -155.29°W
Current status: erupting (4 out of 5)
Kilauea webcams / live data

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Last update: 20 Apr 2013
Typical eruption style: Dominantly effusive since 1790, but ~60% explosive over past ~2500 years.
Kilauea volcano eruptions: Near-continuous eruptions. Since 1960: 1961 (4x), 1962, 1963 (2x), 1965 (2x), 1967-68, 1968 (2x), 1969, 1969-74, 1971 (2x), 1973 (2x), 1974 (3x), 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 (2x), 1983-2013 (ongoing, incl. 1986, 1992, 1997, 2007, 2011 (3x))

Haleamaumau crater in the center of the Kilauea caldera - the heart of Kilauea volcano

Kilauea Volcano Photos

Last earthquakes nearby:

Time	Mag. / Depth	Distance	Location
Sat, 18 May
Sat, 18 May 00:23 UTC	M 1.9 / 5.8 km	2 km	7km W of Volcano, Hawaii
Thu, 16 May
Thu, 16 May 17:20 UTC	M 1.5 / 29.5 km	8 km	Hawaii region, Hawaii
Thu, 16 May 05:05 UTC	M 1.7 / 5.1 km	16 km	13km SSE of Volcano, Hawaii
Wed, 15 May
Wed, 15 May 06:11 UTC	M 2 / 7.2 km	24 km	19km SE of Volcano, Hawaii
Wed, 15 May 05:55 UTC	M 2.4 / 49.9 km	12 km	24km N of Pahala, Hawaii

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Kilauea is the youngest and most active Hawaiian shield volcano, located on the southern part of the Island of Hawai'i, known as Big Island. Hawai'i is the southernmost and largest of the island chain, which owes its existence to the very active Hawaiian hot spot.
Kilauea volcano is near-constantly erupting from vents either on its summit (caldera) or on the rift zones. At present, Kilauea volcano is still having one of the most long-lived eruptions known on earth, which started in 1983 on the eastern rift zone and has mainly been concentrated at the Pu'u 'O'o vent.

Background:

Kilauea volcano, a youthful shield volcano, sitting on the south east flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano, is the youngest volcano (on land) of the Hawaiian hot spot and not only the most active volcano of Hawaii but at the same time also the world's active volcano. It has been in near-constant activity since there is oral or written history and it is having an uninterrupted eruption since 1983 (at present at the Pu'u 'O'o vent on the East rift zone).

Its eruptions are prominent in Hawaiian Polynesian legends and written documentation about its activity go back to only 1820s when it started to attract interested visitor from all over the world and bacame one of volcanology's hot spots.

Kilauea has a large summit caldera with a central crater, Halemaumau, which is according to Hawaiian legends the home of the fire goddess Pele. Until 1924, it contained a lava lake. Kilauea has frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions that are occurring along two elongated rift zones to the south-west and to the east, which extend to the sea on both sides of the volcano. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1500 years ago. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1100 years old; 70% of the volcano's surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone that began in 1983 has produced lava flows covering more than 100 sq km, destroying nearly 200 houses and adding new coastline to the island.

Kilauea Photos:

Lava lake inside Kilauea volcano's West Gap crater. The whole crust covering the lake has just been overturned, exposing the red hot glowing interior. hawaii_e7837 (Photo...	Several effusive vents arranged in a row on top of a dyke, feeding lava flows into Puka Nui collapse pit at Pu'u 'O'o crater, Kilauea volcano. hawaii_e7579.jpg (Photo: To...	A pahoehoe lava flow from Kilauea volcano. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
Breaking wave over glowing lava. Kilauea volcano, Big Island, Hawai'i (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)	Spattering vent and the lava lake. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)	At the moment of the collapse of the hornito, the lens (300mm) was pointed to an area immediately left of it, and this and the next photo show the "missing" left half of ...