Kilauea, a shield volcano on the Island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands, is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It is also one of the largest volcanoes in the world, with an area of approximately 1,900 km2 (730 mi2) and a volume of at least 18,000 km3 (4,300 mi3). The last eruptive episode at Kilauea began in 1983 and is ongoing as of 2018. During this time, over 800 lava flows have been emitted from fissures and vents within the volcano’s East Rift Zone. These lava flows have destroyed over 200 structures and buried over 14 square kilometers (5.4 mi2) of land. In addition to its destructive eruptions, Kilauea is also notable for its frequent seismic activity and persistent deformation of its summit caldera.
Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983 from vents along its East Rift Zone (ERZ). This eruption style consists mostly of effusive basaltic lava flows that pour out from fissures or volcanic cones with very little explosive activity. However, there have been several episodes during which more explosive activity occurred and significant amounts of tephra (volcanic ash) were ejected into the atmosphere. The most recent example was during the 2018 lower Puna eruption when ash plumes reached up to 10 km (33,000 ft) above sea level on multiple occasions.
The majority of historical eruptions at Kilauea took place at or near its summit caldera; these consisted mostly of small to moderate-sized explosive events that eject magma fragments (tephra) onto the caldera floor where they accumulate to form thick layers known as ignimbrites. The last major summit eruption occurred in 1924 when about 0.26 km3 (0.06 mi3)of magma was expelled from several vents within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater; this event produced heavy ashfall across much ʻOahu island which caused widespread damage to crops and infrastructure but no loss