The earliest reliable written records of historical activity date back to about 1820, and the first well-documented eruption occurred in 1823. Although Native Hawaiians are thought to have first settled on the island around 1,500 years ago, oral records predating European arrival on the island are scarce and difficult to interpret.

One pre-contact eruption in particular, a dramatic event in 1790, formed the volcano's present day caldera and was responsible for the death of a party of warriors, part of the army of Ke?ua Kuahu?ula, the last island chief to resist Kamehameha I's rule. Their death is evidenced by a set of footprints preserved within Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kilauea has been the site of 61 separate eruptions since 1823, easily making it one of the most active volcanoes on Earth.

Photo by Miles Morgan