Kīlauea is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located along the southeastern shore of Hawaii Island. … See more

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 u… See more

Like all Hawaiian volcanoes, Kīlauea was formed as the Pacific tectonic plate moved over the Hawaiian hotspot in the Earth's underlying mantle. Hawaii island volcanoes are the most recent evidence of this process tha… See more

All historical eruptions occurred at either Kaluapele, the eastern rift zone, or the southwestern rift zone. Half of Kīlauea's historical eruptions have occurred at or near Kaluapele. Activity there was nearly continuous … See more

In 2018, the USGS National Volcanic Threat Assessment gave Kīlauea an overall threat score of 263, and ranked it first among volcanoes in the United States most likely to threaten lives and infrastructure.
The … See more

Because of its position more than 3,000 km (1,864 mi) from the nearest continental landmass, the island of Hawaiʻi is one of the most geographically isolated landmasses; this strongly influenced its ecology. Th… See more

The first Ancient Hawaiians to arrive on Hawaii island lived along the shores, where food and water were plentiful. Flightless birds that had previously known no predators became a staple food source. Early settle… See more