is an active
Volcano in the
Hawaiian Islands , one of five
Shield Volcano es that together form the
Island Of Hawaii . In
Hawaiian , the word ''kīlauea'' means "spewing" or "much spreading", in reference to the mountain's frequent outpouring of
Lava . It is currently the most active volcano and one of the most visited active volcanoes on the planet. Kīlauea is just the most recent of a long series of volcanoes that created the Hawaiian
Archipelago , as the
Pacific Plate moves over a more or less fixed
Hotspot in the Earth's
Mantle (see, however,
Lōihi ).
Kīlauea's absolute location is 19.452 North, 155.292 West. It is located on Hawaii Island, Hawaii, in the U.S. It lies against the southeast flank of much larger volcano. Mauna Loa's massive size and elevation (13,677 feet or 4,169 m) is a stark contrast to Kīlauea, which rises only 4,091 feet (1,247 m) above sea level, and thus from the summit
Caldera appears as a broad shelf of uplands well beneath the long profile of occasionally snow-capped Mauna Loa, 15 miles (24 km) distant.
First-time visitors to Kīlauea, not familiar with how different the profile of a
Shield Volcano can be compared with
Stratovolcano es like
Mt. Fuji ,
Mount Hood , and
Mount St. Helens , are usually unaware they are approaching the summit of an active volcano as they make the drive up through the
Cloud Forest on State Rte. 11 to
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from
Hilo —or coming from
Kailua-Kona via
South Point across the
Kaū Desert . From Hilo, the highway heads south to
Keaau , then turns abruptly westward to begin the climb to the Kīlauea caldera. For some 20 miles (32 km) the road runs relatively straight, making a 4,000 ft (1,200 m) ascent. However, most of this climb is actually on the heavily vegetated flank of Mauna Loa; the crossing onto lava flows issued from Kīlauea is about 1 mile west of
Glenwood , 18 miles (29 km) from Hilo. The Mauna Loa flows are several thousand years old; the lightly vegetated Kīlauea flows are only 350 to 500 years old.
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Driving from the Kona Coast, the immense size of the Big Island becomes apparent: from Kailua-Kona it is 98 miles (158 km) on the Māmalahoa Highway (State Rte. 11) to Kīlauea. After passing around the southern end of Mauna Loa, the highway turns northeastward towards Kīlauea once past the town of
Nāālehu . Yet, as from the Hilo side, the long climb from near sea level to the summit is all on the flank of Mauna Loa. Not until the Sulfur Bank scarp (the northwestern edge of Kīlauea Caldera), near the intersection of Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, does the road cross over onto Kīlauea. However, the highway parallels the line of contact between the two volcanoes—always less than 1 mile to the southeast—from the vicinity of Punaluu at the coast to the caldera at the summit.
The highway route from the west (State Rte. 11) is vastly different from that seen when coming from Hilo. The highway approaches Kīlauea through a
Desert on the leeward slope called
Kaū . Kīlauea's height of 4000 ft is sufficient to force most of the moisture out of the impinging Northwest Trades, leaving Kaū in the
Rain Shadow of the "low" mountain. This area is also the very active southwest
Rift Zone of Kīlauea, a prolific
Ash producer. Winds redistribute the ash, causing
Dust Storm s and dunes barren of most vegetation.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park encompasses a portion of Kīlauea, and the park visitor center is located near the margin of the
Summit Caldera , overlooking a large pit crater called . The roughly circular caldera measures 3x5 km (or 6x6 km, including the outermost ring faults).
Eruptions at Kīlauea occur primarily either from the summit caldera or along either of the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones that extend from the caldera to the sea. In recent decades, eruptions have been continuous, with many of the lava flows reaching to the
Pacific Ocean shore. About 90% of the surface of Kīlauea is lava flows less than 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years.
There were 45 eruptions of Kīlauea in the twentieth century. The Mauna Ulu eruption of Kīlauea began on
May 24 ,
1969 and ended on
July 22 ,
1974 . At the time, Mauna Ulu was the longest flank eruption of any
Hawaiian Volcano in recorded history. The eruption created a new vent, covered massive amounts of land with
Lava , and added new land to the island.
The Mauna Ulu eruption first started as a fissure between two
Pit Craters ,
Āloi and
Alae , where the Mauna Ulu shield would eventually form. Both
Pāhoehoe and
Aā lava erupted from the volcano. Early on, fountains of lava burst out as much as 540 meters high. In early 1973, an earthquake occurred that caused Kīlauea to stop erupting near the original Mauna Ulu site and instead erupt near the craters
Pauahi and
Hiiaka . However, the eruption site soon returned to normal. The
1990 lava flow in particular was notable for being destructive of property.
The current Kīlauea eruption began in January 1983 along the East rift zone from
Puu Ōō -Kūpaianahā and continues to produce lava flows that travel 11 to 12 km from these vents to the sea. This eruption has covered over 117 km&
2 of land on the southern flank of Kīlauea and has built out into the sea 2 km&
2 (230 hectares) of new land. Since 1983 more than 2.7 km³ of lava has been erupted, making the 1983-to-present eruption the largest historically known for Kīlauea. 189 structures have been destroyed. In the early to middle 1980s Kīlauea was known as "The Drive-by Volcano" because anyone could ride by and see the lava fountains (some as much as 1000 feet in the air) from their car.
In the 1990 lava flow the towns of
Kalapana and
Kaimū were totally destroyed, as were Kaimū Bay, Kalapana Black Sand Beach, and a large section of State Rte. 130, which now abruptly dead-ends at the lava flow.
While Kīlauea is justly known for its largely non-explosive eruptions, it has a darker side to it: it has had large explosive eruptions in the past
{Link without Title} . The most recent of such explosive eruptions occurred in 1924, when magma interacted with groundwater as the long-standing
Lava Lake in Halemaumau Crater drained. Even larger ones have occurred, including one in 1790, which killed at least several dozen people. Eruption columns are inferred to have gone at least as high as 9 km (5.6 miles) and even up to 15-20 km (9-12 miles) in altitude — much higher than the cruising altitude of airliners.
Eruptions from Kīlauea also are known for creating
Vog , or volcanic smog, which affects many areas of the
Hawaiian Islands , including Oahu and Honolulu whenever winds come out of the south or southeast .
Kīlauea is considered to be the present home of
Pele , the volcano goddess of ancient Hawaiian legend. Several special lava formations are named after her, including Pele's Tears (small droplets of lava that cool in the air and retain their teardrop shapes) and Pele's Hair (thin, brittle strands of volcanic glass that often form during the explosions that accompany a lava flow as it enters the ocean).
In northeastern side, and Pele got the drier Kona ("
Leeward ") side. The rusty singed appearance of the young fronds of the amaumau was said to be a product of the legendary struggle.
