Puu Oo (which means "Hill of the Oo bird" in Hawaiian, is often written as Puu Oo, and is roughly pronounced "Poo-oo Ohh-ohh") is a cinder/spatter cone in the eastern rift zone of the Ki-lauea volcano of the Hawaiian Islands. Puu Oo has been erupting continuously since January 3, 1983, making it the longest-lived rift-zone eruption of the last two centuries. From 1983 through 1998, lava from Puu Oo covered more than 97 km² (37 square miles).
As of 1998, the eruption had claimed 181 houses, as well as a church, a store, the Wahaula Visitor Center, and many ancient Hawaiian sites. The coastal highway has been closed since 1987, as lava flows covered 13 km (8 miles) to as great a depth as 25 m (80 ft). The eruption has added 544 acres (2.2 km²) of land to the island of Hawaii.
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