Kilauea rises on the southeast flank of Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island, inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - one of the world's most active volcanoes. Unlike a steep cone such as Vesuvius, Kilauea is a low, very broad shield with a large collapsed caldera at its summit. This 3D explorer shows that gentle shield profile, the caldera, and the Halema'uma'u crater's lava lake near its center.
Published figures: summit elevation about 1,247 m; summit caldera about 4 km by 3.2 km; Halema'uma'u crater within the caldera has hosted an active lava lake during multiple eruptive episodes since 2008; the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone extend from the summit; inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Kilauea 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows Kilauea, on the southeast flank of Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island - one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Where Vesuvius and Etna rise as steep or four-cratered cones, Kilauea spreads into a much lower, far broader shield, gently sloped enough that a person standing on its flank might not immediately recognize it as a volcano at all.
At Kilauea's summit sits a large collapsed caldera about 4 km by 3.2 km across. Inside that caldera, the smaller Halema'uma'u crater - traditionally regarded as the home of the volcano goddess Pele - has held an active lava lake during several eruptive episodes since 2008. Two rift zones radiate from the summit: the long East Rift Zone, which fed decades of flank eruptions including the Pu'u 'O'o vent (1983-2018) and the destructive 2018 lower Puna eruption, and the shorter Southwest Rift Zone.
- Toggle the lava lake glow to see Halema'uma'u's crater floor light up orange-red
- Toggle the rift-zone ridges to see the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone traced outward from the caldera
- Read elevation, caldera size, and heritage-status figures in the info panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Summit elevation | about 1,247 m |
| Summit caldera | about 4 km by 3.2 km |
| Halema'uma'u crater | lava lake active during multiple episodes since 2008 |
| Rift zones | East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone |
| Location | Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Island, USA |
| Heritage status | UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 (Hawaii Volcanoes National Park) |
For other volcanoes, explore the Mount Etna 3D Explorer for a broad four-crater shield-strato profile, or the Mount Vesuvius 3D Explorer for a single steep cone inside an ancient caldera ridge - both dramatically steeper and narrower than Kilauea's low shield.
Kilauea's caldera, lava lake, and rift-zone ridges are drawn right in your browser through WebGL, so the whole volcano stays on your own device. The three.js engine behind the scene downloads a single time (about 0.7 MB), then is cached, so returning to spin the scene again is instant.
This is an educational approximation - the terrain, caldera, lava-lake glow, and rift-zone ridges are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Kilauea look so different from a typical volcano cone?
Kilauea is a shield volcano - its lava is thin and flows easily, so it spreads into a low, very broad dome instead of piling up into a steep cone. Its summit sits at only about 1,247 m, far lower than a steep stratovolcano like Vesuvius, and its slopes are gentle enough that the overall shape reads more like a wide dome than a mountain peak.
Is the Halema'uma'u lava lake always active?
No. Halema'uma'u has hosted an active lava lake during several separate eruptive episodes since 2008, but the lake has also drained or gone quiet between episodes. This explorer shows the lava lake toggled on by default as the crater's best-known state, but the real lake's presence changes with Kilauea's eruptive activity.
What are the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone?
They are two long fracture zones that radiate outward from Kilauea's summit caldera, where magma can travel underground and erupt from fissures far from the summit itself. The East Rift Zone is the longer and more active of the two - it fed the Pu'u 'O'o vent from 1983 to 2018 and the destructive lower Puna eruption in 2018.
How big is Kilauea's summit caldera?
The summit caldera is about 4 km by 3.2 km across, formed by past collapses as magma drained from underneath. The smaller Halema'uma'u crater sits within that larger caldera and is where most of the recent lava-lake activity has been observed.
Is Kilauea part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park?
Yes. Kilauea sits inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island, on the southeast flank of the much larger Mauna Loa. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, recognizing its exceptional record of volcanic activity and its distinctive Hawaiian ecosystems.