Kilauea volcano erupts in Hawaii

One of the world's most active volcanoes has erupted in Hawaii.

Footage from Kilauea on Hawaii's Big Island showed fountains of lava being sprayed 80 metres into the air.

Officials say there is no danger to residents at the moment, as volcanic activity is currently taking place in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Kilauea is one of six active volcanoes located in the Hawaiian Islands, which also include Mauna Loa, the world's largest volcano.

What's happened?

Kilauea is the most active volcano on Hawaii's Big Island.

There have been ongoing eruptions taking place there for the past forty years.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the latest eruption began on Monday, on the southwestern side of the volcano.

Huge cracks sprayed jets of molten rock into the air and plumes of volcanic gas were spotted more than 2,000 metres above sea level.

Officials say there is no immediate danger to locals, however they have warned that volcanic smog could reach residential areas.

Why are there volcanoes on Hawaii?

Most volcanoes form at the boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates, huge slabs of Earth's crust and upper mantle, which fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

These plates are not fixed, but are constantly moving at a very slow rate.

However, Hawaii is slightly different as it doesn't sit on a plate boundary.

Instead, volcanoes have formed the long chain of islands because of the "Hawaiian hot spot".

A hot spot is made up of super-heated material deep inside the earth, located in the middle of a plate.

Here, magma - or molten rock - rises upwards through the planet's layers.

When some of it pushes its way to the surface, a volcanic eruption takes place.