Kilauea

Kilauea is an active shield volcano and hotspot volcano on the southeastern shore of the island of Hawaii, part of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, rising to 1,247 meters. The volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago, and it has been the most active of the five volcanoes that built the island since the islands were first settled. Its summit holds a large caldera called Kaluapele, and two active rift zones extend eastward and westward from the summit. Kilauea's 1790 eruption, which killed more than 400 people, remains the deadliest volcanic eruption recorded in what is now the United States, and its most recent eruption began in December 2024, with episodic lava fountains continuing into 2026.