Year-round Fireworks at Kilauea, the World’s Most Active Volcano The darker nights make the stars seem brighter, but they’re also a perfect canvas for something more earthly – fireworks. In fact, as the New Year approaches, fireworks become an increasingly familiar sound (and sight) each evening.
Fans of these seasonal displays only get a few chances a year to enjoy the sparks (the Fourth of July in the US, Bastille Day in France, the UK’s Bonfire Night, etc.). Mother Nature offers an alternative for travellers, however – volcanoes.
Eruptions
Granted, volcanoes aren’t the most reliable of light displays. Plenty are dormant, like Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Rainier (USA), and Japan’s Mount Fuji, while others have fallen silent forever. Believe it or not, three examples of the latter exist in Scotland – Arthur’s Seat, Ben Nevis, and Glen Coe.
A lesser number of volcanoes remain active. These boisterous mountains can be subdivided in all sorts of different ways, including by shape, lava type, and eruption style. It’s a series of factors that determine how dangerous a volcano might be in the future.
Perhaps the most interesting categories for travellers are the Strombolian and Hawaiian eruptions. These are on the gentler side of things, although the former, Strombolian, known for Mt. Etna in Sicily, is capable of more explosive displays.
Hawaiian eruptions produce fountains of lava, characterised by Kilauea on Hawaii Island. Kilauea is arguably the most active volcano on Earth, and scientists believe it may have been erupting for up to 300,000 years.
Old Stories
Kīlauea has an important role to play in Hawaiian mythology, where it’s the home of the fire goddess Pele. She’s at war with her sister Nāmaka, who resides in the sea, and constantly tries to extinguish Pele’s flames.
Hawaii’s mythology has wide appeal, even beyond tourists. The literature site Rachona notes that the Rare-developed game Sea of Thieves includes creatures inspired by Polynesian lore, while indie titles take inspiration from “Maui’s exploits”.
A volcanic god features in Treasures of Kilauea, a UK online casino game adorned with tiki masks and other nods to Hawaiian culture. Mythology and ancient civilizations are some of the most popular themes in casino gaming.
Many observers hope that Polynesian myth can continue to spread around the world – if only as a hedge against old stories dying off altogether.
Travellers
The Pu’u’ō’ō eruption has been pouring out of Kilauea’s East Rift Zone since 1983. Given its mild temperament, it’s become a magnet for travellers.
The United States National Park Service claims 1,620,294 visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in 2023, an increase of 2.5% from the year before. The Service adds that a new eruption beginning in 2010 – Halemaʻumaʻu – increased visits by 27.5% to the present day.
Kilauea has erupted 36 times since the end of 2024, with the most recent display coming on November 9. That creates an average of almost four eruptions per month. The volcano reportedly launched lava 1,100ft into the Hawaiian skies during its most recent episode.
Like all volcanoes, Kilauea doesn’t follow anybody’s timetable, but this ancient mountain is about as close as anybody can get to a year-round fireworks display.
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