How much lava comes out of Kilauea?

Kīlauea’s Lava: How Much Does This Volcano Really Spew Out?

Kīlauea, perched on the Big Island of Hawai’i, isn’t just any volcano—it’s one of the most active on the planet. For decades, it’s been putting on a nearly constant show, giving scientists a front-row seat to study the inner workings of a volcano. And believe me, understanding how much lava Kīlauea churns out is a big deal. It helps us figure out the dangers, understand what’s going on deep inside the volcano, and even learn more about the Earth itself. So, how much lava are we talking about? Well, that’s where it gets interesting, because it changes a lot depending on the eruption.

Recent Activity: What’s Kīlauea Been Up To Lately?

Since December 2024, Kīlauea’s been at it again, putting on a display of lava fountains from a couple of vents in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater. As of August 1, 2025, it’s already had twenty-nine episodes!

• September 2021 – October 2022: Back in 2022, after a year of eruption, scientists took some measurements and figured out that Kīlauea had spit out around 111 million cubic meters of lava. That’s a lot of molten rock!
• December 2024 – January 2025: More recently, from the end of 2024 into early 2025, the volcano was pumping out lava at a rate of about 29 cubic meters every second. To put that in perspective, by mid-January 2025, it had already erupted about 24.5 million cubic meters of lava, which actually filled up part of the caldera left over from the big 2018 eruption. Can you imagine seeing that?

The Big One: The 2018 Lower East Rift Zone Eruption

Now, let’s talk about 2018. That eruption in the Lower East Rift Zone? That was a game-changer. It was one of the biggest and most destructive eruptions Hawai’i had seen in two centuries.

• Effusion Rate: Early on, the lava was flowing out at a rate of about 7 to 100 cubic meters per second. But by mid-June, when the eruption really got going, it was gushing out at at least 200 cubic meters per second. Just mind-blowing.
• Total Volume: By the time it was all said and done in August 2018, Kīlauea had unleashed somewhere between 0.9 and 1.4 cubic kilometers of lava. Some of it stayed on land, but a good chunk—at least 0.5 cubic kilometers—flowed right into the ocean.
• The Cost: Sadly, this eruption wasn’t just a geological spectacle. It wiped out around 700 homes and forced about 3,000 people to evacuate. It was a harsh reminder of the power of nature.

Looking Back: Kīlauea’s History of Eruptions

To really understand Kīlauea, you have to look at its past. It’s had some doozy eruptions over the years.

• 1840 Eruption: Back in 1840, the eastern rift zone saw a massive eruption that lasted almost a month and produced somewhere around 200 to 265 million cubic meters of lava.
• 1959 Kīlauea Iki Eruption: The Kīlauea Iki eruption was wild, with lava fountains shooting up almost 2,000 feet in the air!
• 1983-2018 Eruption: And then there’s the eruption that lasted from 1983 to 2018. By the end of 2016 alone, it had produced over 4 cubic kilometers of lava, covered a huge area of land, and even added new land to the island.

What Makes Kīlauea Tick?

So, what controls how much lava Kīlauea throws out? Well, it’s a mix of things.

• Magma: It all starts with what’s happening deep underground.
• Effusion Rate: How fast the lava comes out is also key.
• Eruptive Cycles: And Kīlauea seems to go through cycles, switching between calmer periods and times of explosive activity.

Kīlauea’s lava output is a constantly changing story. The amount of lava it erupts depends on the eruption itself, what’s going on with the magma, and those long-term cycles. Keeping track of all this is super important for understanding this incredible volcano and staying safe when it decides to put on a show.