Geology and History

Eruptive activity at the summit of Kīlauea, within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, has been intermittent since an eruption began on December 23, 2024.

Kīlauea erupted in and near Nāpau Crater on the middle East Rift Zone of Kīlauea, within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, from September 15-20, 2024.

Kīlauea erupted briefly on Monday, June 3, southwest of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) within the closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Kīlauea Volcano is a shield volcano located on the eastern slope of Mauna Loa Volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i. The volcano is considered to be in the shield-building stage of Hawaiian volcanism.

After the 2018 summit collapse, Kīlauea volcano was quiet until an eruption began within Halema‘uma‘u crater on December 20, 2020, at about 9:30 p.m. HST. The eruption was one of several recent eruptions at Kīlauea's summit.

Ponded water first appeared at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in late July 2019. The pond slowly deepened until December 20, 2020, when an eruption from the crater wall sent lava pouring into the lake, which caused it to boil off.

In 2018, Kīlauea’s long-lived Pu‘u‘ō‘ō eruption, on the middle East Rift Zone, and decade-old summit lava lake eruption ended. A large lower East Rift Zone eruption partially drained the summit magma reservoir, which caused portions of the unsupported summit caldera floor to collapse.

Chronology of Kīlauea's summit eruption, 2008–2018.

The Pu‘u‘ō‘ō eruption began in 1983, and ranks as the longest and most voluminous known outpouring of lava from Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone in more than 500 years.

The Maunaulu eruption, on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone, started on May 24, 1969 and lasted until July 22, 1974. At the time, it was the longest-lasting and most voluminous eruption on Kīlauea's flank in at least 2200 years.

The Kapoho eruption caused havoc in lower Puna, which was considered an idyllic rural paradise until the lava fountains and flows covered farm land and villages.

The 1959 eruption of Kīlauea Iki Crater was a relatively short-lived event (November 14 to December 20, 1959) and produced some of Kīlauea's most spectacular lava fountains of the 20th century. Most importantly, the eruption provided some of the first measurable data about the magma reservoir system at Kīlauea.