Before Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, these active US volcanoes erupted in recent years

USA Today NetworkJosh Hafner, USA TODAY Published 5:46 p.m. ET May 14, 2018 | Updated 12:05 a.m. ET May 15, 2018

Peggy Short-Nottage photographed Mount St. Helens volcanic activity from an airplane with her husband in 1980, before and after the volcano's large eruption that May. Recently, a family friend discovered her film slides and returned them to her. Molly J. Smith / Statesman Journal

Corrections & Clarifications: This article was updated to reflect that Kilauea lies within the Ring of Fire.

As the Kilauea volcano pours lava through a rural neighborhood on Hawaii’s Big Island, volcano evacuees on Monday awaited an "imminent" eruption.

Kilauea is within a range of volcanoes known as the Ring of Fire, which nearly encircles the Pacific Ocean, and in the United States includes volcanoes in Alaska and throughout the West Coast.

Volcanoes in the ring operate independently of each other, though several have erupted recently in the U.S. Those include Mount St. Helens in Washington state, which erupted to kill dozens in 1980, and last went off in 2008.

Here are five active volcanoes in the U.S. that have erupted in recent years, according to data from the US Geological Survey and the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Mount St. Helens (Washington)

Last reported eruption: 2008

If a volcano erupts in the in the mainland U.S., federal scientists say, look for it to be Mount St. Helens. It's the most active volcano in the Cascade Range, the USGS notes. Known for its deadly eruption that killed 57 people in May 1980, the volcano's last eruption occurred from 2004 to 2008. During that time, enough lava erupted onto the volcano's crater floor to fill 36,800 Olympic swimming pools, the agency notes.

A view of snow-capped Mount St. Helens shot sometime in early 1980 from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Cracks and fissures begin to show on the north face of Mount St. Helens in this photograph shot sometime in the spring of 1980 from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Mount St. Helens had a conical peak, as seen in this photograph shot sometime in the spring of 1980 from a Cessna 150, until the May 18 eruption blew 1,300 feet from its top and left behind a horseshoe-shaped crater. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Cracks and fissures begin to show on the north face of Mount St. Helens in this photograph shot sometime in the spring of 1980 from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Ash billows from the peak of Mount St. Helens in this photograph shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. An aircraft can be seen in the distance on the far right. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Ash billows from the peak of Mount St. Helens in this photograph shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. An aircraft can be seen in the distance near the left side of the mountain. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Mount St. Helens and the clouds of ash billowing from its peak take on a monotonous gray tone in this photo shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Ash and clouds surround Mount St. Helens during a subsequent eruption as seen from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash pour from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash from Mount St. Helens look like clouds of fire around sunset in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption on May 18, 1980. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

An picturesque view of clouds of ash oozing from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens, shot around sunset from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

The view from the cockpit of a Cessna 150 shows clouds of ash billowing from the Mount St. Helens during one of the subsequent eruptions. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash from Mount St. Helens take on an orange glow around sunset in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption on May 18, 1980. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash billow from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens during one of the subsequent eruptions, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Sunset adds color to the ash billowing from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens during one of the subsequent eruptions, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash billow from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens during one of the subsequent eruptions, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Mushroom-shaped clouds of ash from subsequent eruptions are captured in photographs taken at sunset from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. The wing of the aircraft can be seen in the upper portion of the photo. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash rise from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Mushroom-shaped clouds of ash from subsequent eruptions are captured in photographs taken at sunset from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Clouds of ash pour from the horseshoe-shaped crater of Mount St. Helens, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Mount St. Helens and the clouds of ash billowing from its peak take on a monotonous gray tone in this photo shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Mount St. Helens erupted several times in the months after the big blast May 18, 1980, as seen in this photo taken from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Nearly 150 square miles of forest around Mount St. Helens was blown over or left dead and standing as seen in this photo taken from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

The landscape was leveled and covered in ash in the area surrounding Mount St. Helens as seen in this photo taken from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

A glimpse of the devastation around Mount St. Helens shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. A lateral blast ofrock, ash, and hot gases devastated a 230-square-mile area. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

The May 18, 1908 eruption of Mount St. Helens leaves a barren wasteland in a direct blast zone that covers 230 square miles. This photo was taken sometime in the aftermath from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

An up-close view of the ash-laden landscape from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, shot from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. The ash scattered across a dozen states. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

The eruption of Mount St. Helens wipes out the landscape in the immediate area and causes destruction and damage for 230 square miles as seen in this photo taken from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

The ash deposited in the area immediately surrounding Mount St. Helens looks like a moonscape in this photo taken from the cockpit of a Cessna 150. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Nearly 7,000 big game animals such as deer, elk and bear were killed in the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. A photo taken from the cockpit of a Cessna 150 captures some of the survivors. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

Replay

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Last Slide Next Slide

Mount Cleveland (Alaska)

Last reported eruption: 2017

Found among a string of volcanic islands off mainland Alaska called the Aleutians, Cleveland has been in a state of unrest since July 2015, according to the USGS. A series of lava domes and explosions stemmed from the volcano, which makes up half of the uninhabited Chuginadak Island, in Spring 2017. Out of the 160-plus active volcanoes in the U.S., it's one of three currently with "elevated" activity, per to the USGS. The other two: Hawaii's Kilauea and Mauna Loa, both on the Big Island.

Bogoslof Island (Alaska)

Last reported eruption: 2017

Also in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, Bogoslof saw a yearlong eruption kick off as early as December 2016 and continued through Aug. 30, 2017. Ash emissions rose so high as to disrupt several flights, according to reports gathered by the state's volcano observatory. While its eruption may have ended, the volcano does not have a local network to monitor it, according to the observatory.

Pavlof Volcano (Alaska)

Last reported eruption: 2016

Translating to "Paul" from Russian, the snowy member of the Aleutians last erupted on the afternoon of March 27, 2016. The resulting ash cloud, seen by a pilot, eventually reached 35,000 feet above sea level and extended 400 miles northeast into Alaska's interior. Ash fall occurred nearby, with activity trickling through summer.

Kanaga Volcano (Alaska)

Last reported eruption: 2012

On the northern tip of the Aleutians' Kanga Island, the volcano's summit was reported as steaming on Feb. 19, 2012. One resident on nearby Adak Island noted an "acrid odor" that caused throat irritation, per the observatory report. Tremor-like bursts followed, with plumes of vapor occuring that April.