The ʻAilāʻau eruption is a prehistoric

eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Hi ...

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

on the island of

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. Carbon 14 dated from approximately 1410 to 1470 with an eruptive volume of 5.2 ± 0.8 km³ and fed by

lava tubes A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...

near

Kīlauea Iki Kīlauea Iki is a pit crater that is next to the main summit caldera of Kīlauea on the island of Hawaiʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. It is known for its eruption in 1959 that started on November 14th and ended on December 20th, producing lava f ...

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

, it was among the last of a series of highly voluminous

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flows since about 1290 that blanketed vast swaths of what is now

Hawaii County Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Puna District Puna is one of the 9 districts of Hawaii County on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island; County of Hawaii). It is located on the windward side (east side) of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaū district i ...

. The

Kazumura Cave Kazumura Cave is a lava tube and has been surveyed at 40.7 miles (65.5 km) long and 3,614 feet (1,102 m) deep making it the longest and deepest lava tube in the world. The cave is located on the island of Hawaiʻi on the eastern slope of Kīla ...

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...

s were also created by this eruption.Kilauea summit overflows: Their ages and distribution in the Puna District, Hawai'i - USGS
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/ref> The ʻAilāʻau eruption occurred before written records, but was witnessed by

Ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

ans, and through their oral traditions it is thought to have inspired the Hawaiian myth of ʻAilāʻau, whose name in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

means "forest-eater" in reference to the many forest lands consumed by lava.I. Ai Laau, The Forest Eater - Sacred Texts
/ref>

References

Ancient Hawaii 15th-century volcanic events Kīlauea VEI-0 eruptions Volcanic eruptions in the United States Hawaiian eruptions {{Hawaiian volcanism