Kilauea ("vomiting," in Hawaiian) is the most active volcano on the planet. On May 4, 2018, an earthquake opened new fissures and Kilauea's extensive eruptions destroyed homes and forced authorities to declare a state of emergency and evacuate nearly 2,000 people. This shield volcano, located on the southeast slope of Mauna Loa Island, is currently just above the hot spot of the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also one of the newest volcanoes to emerge in Hawaii. Its activity, closely followed by scientists since 1911, makes it one of the most studied and best known volcanoes in the world. The observatory is located at the edge of the crater, not far from the visitor center. Its summit reaches 1,200 m above sea level, to which must be added 3,700 m of underwater building. Its pit-crater (Halemaumau Crater) was home to a lake until 1924. For the Hawaiians, Halemaumau is the home of Pele, a famous goddess known for her hair and her anger. Two rifts, east and southwest, extend the volcano where its large basaltic lava flows come to rest, via several kilometers of tunnels. The eruption started in the rift on January 3, 1983, is still in progress. Lava cascades and explosions can be observed from the developed area. On September 5, 2008, geologists revealed the presence of a lava lake located 100 m below the rim of the Halemaumau Crater vent and the eruption has been almost constant since then allowing more or less good views of the lava lake from the developed viewpoints of the park. Then, in the spring of 2018, the top of Halemaumau Crater collapsed following an eruption and multiple earthquakes, and doubled in volume, causing significant damage to the entire area. On the eastern rift of Kilauea, many craters have formed; they have been the site of major eruptions. This area is called the Chain of Craters or the East Rift Zone.

Kilauea caldera. With its ash-colored ground, its 18 km circumference, its 165 m depth and its orange smoke, the Kilauea caldera is one of the most impressive in the world. From the 19th century until the early 1980s, it was the most active part of the volcano. In the 1800s, an entire lake of lava had even made its bed in the caldera! Since 2008 and until the end of 2018, it was the scene of the eruption of the crater Halemaumau and we can see a lake of lava more or less well depending on the level of activity of the volcano.