• Photograph of a spectacular lava fountain rising 1750 feet into the air from an eruption of the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. To see information about all the volcanoes on the Big Island as well as the overall geography of The Big Island of Hawaii click here. To go to the Hawaii Geography Page click here. You may open all of the photographs on this webpage in a separate window by clicking on the individual pictures. Be sure to "Bookmark" or "Add to Favorites" if you think you might want to return to this webpage in the future.
• Kilauea is the youngest and southeastern most volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. Topographically Kilauea appears as only a bulge on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa, and so for many years Kilauea was thought to be a mere satellite of its giant neighbor, not a separate volcano. However, research over the past few decades shows clearly that Kilauea has its own magma-plumbing system, extending to the surface from about 20,000 feet deep in the earth.
In fact, the summit of Kilauea lies on a curving line of volcanoes that includes Mauna Kea and Kohala but, excludes Mauna Loa Volcano. That is to say, Kilauea is to Mauna Kea as Loihi, the underwater volcano, is to Mauna Loa.
The current and constant eruption of Kilauea Volcano that began in 1983 and continues at the cinder-and-spatter cone of Puu Oo, which in Hawaiian means "highpoint of the sky" or "the sky's zenith". Lava erupting from that cone flows through a tube system down Pulama Pali about 8 miles to the Pacific Ocean. Click here to see a photo of lavafalls at Pulama Pali on the Big Island of Hawaii. To see an underground map of Kilauea Volcano and the lava tube to the ocean, click here. To read an explanation of the map, look at the text just below the two following photographs.
Above a Kilauea Lava Fountain which is 300 meters (985 feet) high from the Puu Oo Cinder and Spatter Cone which spews a continuous outpouring of lava, cinder, smoke and copious amounts of sulfer dioxide gas into the atmosphere - which mixes with dust particles and creates vog, Pele's counterpart to smog. See below for more specifics regarding vog and farther down the page to read more information about the volcano Goddess, Pele.
When sulfur dioxide (SO2)gas is released, it reacts chemically with sunlight, oxygen, dust particles, and water in the air to form a mixture of sulfate (S04-2) aerosols (tiny particles and droplets), sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and other oxidized sulfur species. Together, this gas and aerosol mixture produces a hazy atmospheric condition known as volcanic smog, better known in Hawaii as "vog."
To see an underground map of Kilauea Volcano and the lava tube to the ocean, click here.
This simplified cutaway view (not to scale) of Kilauea Volcano shows the pathway of molten rock during the eruption of Puu Oo, located on the east rift zone about 15 miles from the caldera. Molten lava moves from the magma reservoir beneath the caldera through the east rift zone to Puu Oo. When molten rock erupts as lava from Puu Oo, it flows either onto the surface or through a lava-tube system about 8 miles to the sea and sometimes surface eruptions and fountains also flow to the ocean.
During episode 54 on January 30, 1997, lava erupted from Napau Crater about 3 miles uprift from Puu Oo. The rift zone widened about six feet in Napau and a little over a foot wider almost 2 miles uprift, as magma forced a pathway to the surface. Chemical studies of lava samples from episode 54 indicate that two separate and distinct bodies of magma, stored in the rift zone near Napau Crater for many years, supplied lava for the eruptive activity. The caldera was the site of nearly continuous activity during the 1800s and the early part of this 1900s. Since 1952 there have been 34 eruptions, and beginning in January of 1983 eruptive activity has been continuous along the east rift zone of Kilauea up to the present day. Kilauea is considered by many volcanologists to be the planet's most active volcano.
The photo above was taken on the weekend of June 15, 2007 and is the Puu Oo vent which is the same as the 1,750 foot high lava fountain pictured at the top of this page. To view pictures taken before the 2007 earhquakes which are wallpaper sized photos of the steaming Puu Oo vent, click here. During that weekend and in the aftermath, the Big Island of Hawaii was shaken by over a thousand small earthquakes, most of which centered on the upper East Rift Zone of mighty and unpredicable Kilauea Volcano. An intrusion of magma collecting beneath the rift between Pauahi and Makaopuhi craters about 1 to 2 miles deep caused most of the earthquakes. (See quake map below) Coinciding with the tremors was a dramatic decrease in the lava feeding the Puu Oo Vent which could cause a pause in episode 56 eruptions. The Petunia lava flow, which began in mid-May of 2007, continues to push toward the southeast . (See photo beneath the quake map just below.) The upper part of the Petunia lava flow has already evolved into a well-developed lava tube that transports lava downslope to feed the terminus of the lengthening flow. Lava continues to enter the ocean at the Poupou location within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In January of 1997 a magma intrusion created new eruption sites in and northeast of Napau Crater and lava spewed for 22 hours. A 30-day pause in lava flow at the Pu'u O'o vent also occurred. And again in September of 1999 A magma intrusion generated a swarm of small earthquakes, resulting in an 11-day pause in lava flow at the Pu'u O'o vent, but no new eruption sites. After the June 2007 series of earthquakes, the rift zone is about 39 inches (1 meter) wider. The photo above was taken June 18, 2007 and the map below illustrates the seismic activity while the photo beneath the quake map illustrates the Petunia flow.
Hawaiian mythology holds that Kilauea Volcano is the home of Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess and volcano goddess who can change at will from a withered old woman to a ravishing young beauty. Even modern day Hawaiians tell of great misfortune after removing Pele's sacred rocks from Kiluaea. Hawaiian chants and oral traditions tell in veiled form of many eruptions fomented by an angry Pele prior to the arrival of the first European, the missionary Reverend William Ellis, who saw the summit in 1823. Below are many photographs of Pele's fury and Kilauea's eruptions followed by links to 4 videos which illustrate eruptions of Kilauea Volcano as well as links to other volcano resources worldwide.
Volcano Watch is a weekly newsletter written by the scientists at the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It is published in the Sunday Hawaii Tribune-Herald newspaper and the Monday West Hawaii Today newspaper, and posted online the following Monday or Tuesday depending on Monday holidays. While the updates are primarily addressed to the residents of the Big Island of Hawaii, some articles may have broader scopes. Topics may range from volcanic features on the Big Island, volcanic hazards, informational subjects regarding, say, Long Valley, Montserrat and Alaska, to matters regarding the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. To read this week's Volcano Watch update, click here.
To learn more about Kilauea Volcano, the other volcanoes of Hawaii, the United States and the world, click here. To go directly to the official website for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, click here.
• To see more information about all the volcanoes on the Big Island as well as the overall geography of The Big Island of Hawaii click here. To go to the Hawaii Geography Page click here. • To see more volcano information and photos on the Big Island of Hawaii Page click here.
More Photos of Kilauea Volcano
Click to open pictures in separate widescreen wallpaper-sized windows.
Click on the 5 Photos Above to see Widescreen Wallpaper Pictures
Click Above to Enlarge to Widescreen Wallpaper
• To look at an old black and white photo showing smoke and ash spewing from Kilauea Volcano just prior to erupting in 1924, click here.
• To view a video of a restored U.S. Government film of the Kilauea volcanic eruptions of 1959 and 1960 (10 minutes) click here.
• To watch a 3 minute video of Kilauea Lava shooting into the sky and eventually entering the ocean, click here.
• To see a 2 minute educational video of volcanic eruptions click, here.
• To watch another 2 minute video of Kilauea's molten lava cascading off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean, click, here.
• To look at a 45 second video of molten lava from Kilauea Volcano, click, here.
• To explore almost any science topic that comes to mind, such as fossils, astronomy and volcanology, click here to view the Sciences Page including photos of volcanos worldwide as well as information regarding volcanoes around the globe.
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