Kilauea is the youngest of the subaerial volcanoes on the Island of Hawaii and lies at the southeast end of the Hawaiian chain. Much of the bulk of the volcano is below sea level. The present-day caldera formed in 1790 A.D. and contains a pit crater, Halemaumau. Two rift zones extend to the east and southwest. Kilauea is in the shield-building stage and is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Over 90 percent of the surface is covered by lava less than 1,000 years old. The current eruption of Kilauea began in 1983 and is located on the East Rift Zone. This photograph shows Kilauea Caldera and Halemaumau Crater. The East Rift Zone trends away from the caldera towards the top of the photo. A plume of gas can be seen rising above the Puu Oo cone. Photograph by J.D. Griggs, U.S. Geological Survey, January 10, 1985.

• The current eruption from Steve O'Mera.
• The current eruption from the videotape "Kilauea ERZ USGS Open File"
• Eruption of Kilauea 1959-1960

• For a 3-D image of Kilauea, click here.

• For picture of Pu'u'O'o, click here.

• For a map of recent lava flows on Kilauea, click here.

• For more pictures of Hawaiian lava flows, click here.

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