Kilauea Volcano. Hawaiian Islands, United States

The volcano has erupted frequently, although written records stretch back only to 1820. In an earlier episode around 1790, a Kīlauea eruption killed a party of warriors and their families. These soldiers were part of the army controlled by Keōua Kuahuʻula, the last chief on the island to resist Kamehameha I.
In the early morning hours of March 19, 2008, Halemaʻumaʻu experienced its first explosive event since 1924 and the first eruption in the Kīlauea caldera since September 1982. A steam vent that had recently opened near the overlook area exploded, generating a magnitude 3.7 earthquake, and scattering rocks over a 75 acre area. A small amount of ash was also reported at a nearby community. The explosion debris covered part of Crater Rim Drive and damaged Halemaʻumaʻu overlook. The explosion did not release any lava, which suggests to scientists that it was driven by hydrothermal or gas sources.