<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, and the destruction of Vacationland Hawaii in 2018 . The 2018 lower Puna eruption, which began May 3, over several weeks opened two dozen lava vents downrift from the summit in Puna . The eruption was accompanied by a strong earthquake on May 4 of M 6.9, and nearly 2,000 residents were evacuated from the rural Leilani Estates subdivision and nearby areas . </P> <P> On May 17, 2018 at 4: 17 AM, the volcano explosively erupted at the summit in Halemaumau Crater, throwing ash 30,000 feet into the air . Summit explosions have caused the long - term closure of the Kīlauea section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and vigorous eruptive activity is ongoing in lower Puna, where lava entered the ocean in three places, destroyed Hawaii's largest freshwater lake, covered substantial portions of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens, completely inundated Vacationland Hawaii and all but three houses in the Kapoho Beach Lots . Lava also filled Kapoho Bay and extended new land nearly a mile into the sea . The total number of houses taken by lava since May 3, 2018 was officially announced on June 7 as approximately 600 . On July 9 the official total had increased to 700 houses . </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 did the current eruption of kilauea begin