<P> Kīlauea (/ ˌkiːlaʊˈeɪə /, US: / ˌkɪləˈweɪə /; Hawaiian: (tiːlɐwˈwɛjə)) is a currently active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island of Hawai ʻi . Located along the southern shore of the island, the volcano is between 300,000 and 600,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago . </P> <P> It is the second youngest product of the Hawaiian hotspot and the current eruptive center of the Hawaiian--Emperor seamount chain . Because it lacks topographic prominence and its activities historically coincided with those of Mauna Loa, Kīlauea was once thought to be a satellite of its much larger neighbor . Structurally, Kīlauea has a large, fairly recently formed caldera at its summit and two active rift zones, one extending 125 km (78 mi) east and the other 35 km (22 mi) west, as an active fault of unknown depth moving vertically an average of 2 to 20 mm (0.1 to 0.8 in) per year . </P> <P> Kīlauea has been erupting nearly continuously since 1983 and has caused considerable property damage, including the destruction of the town of Kalapana in 1990 . On May 3, 2018, several lava vents opened in the lower Puna area, downrift from the summit . The new volcanic episode was accompanied by a strong earthquake of M 6.9, and nearly 2,000 residents were evacuated from Leilani Estates and the adjacent Lanipuna Gardens development . By May 9, 2018, the eruption had destroyed 27 houses in the Leilani Estates subdivision . On May 17, 2018 at 4: 17 AM, the volcano explosively erupted, throwing ash 30,000 feet into the air . </P> <P> Kīlauea's eruptive history has been a long and active one; its name means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava . The earliest lavas from the volcano date back to its submarine preshield stage, samples having been recovered by remotely operated underwater vehicles from its submerged slopes; samples of other flows have been recovered as core samples . Lavas younger than 1,000 years cover 90 percent of the volcano's surface . The oldest exposed lavas date back 2,800 years . </P>

When was the last time that the kilauea volcano erupted