The 100-foot cinder cone that marks the spot of the prolific and most prominent vent in the 2018 Kilauea eruption has been christened with a name: Ahu‘aila‘au.

The Hawaii Board on Geographic Names this week approved the Hawaiian name for fissure 8 that refers to the altar of the volcano deity ‘Aila‘au, it was announced Thursday.

The name was selected from dozens of community-submitted proposals in a process that lasted for more than two years, in part because of delays created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Proposed names were accepted through June 30, 2019, and the board traveled to Puna several times pre-pandemic to listen to testimony from the community.

“There were a lot of passionate people who gave their input,” said Arthur Buto of the Office of State Planning, one of the board members who voted for the new name on Tuesday on Oahu.

The Hawaii County Council had asked that the board consult with the communities impacted by the eruption to ensure traditional, cultural, and family ties were considered in the naming of fissure 8 or any of the other features of the 2018 eruption.

The name that won out was submitted by University of Hawaii- Hilo Hawaiian language professor Kalani Makekau-Whittaker on behalf of Puna residents Pi‘ilani Ka‘awaloa, Keone Kalawe and Lei Kaleimamahu.

“We are excited to have a name that provides a sense of place, history, and cultural identity to the fissure that took with it so many memories,” Hawaii Mayor Mitch Roth said in a statement. “To understand the power of mother nature is to understand the stories and context in which our ancestors have explained it. Ahu‘aila‘au is an embodiment of how Hawaiians have explained the natural phenomenon for generations, and it is integral to our understanding of this place.”

At times spouting lava 200 feet or more in the air, fissure 8 would become the main source of a winding river of lava that vaporized Green Lake, destroyed seaside homes and filled in picturesque Kapoho Bay.

Kilauea Volcano’s four-month eruption pushed roughly 1 billion cubic yards of molten rock across the Lower Puna landscape, destroying 716 homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, covering 30 miles of roads, isolating 1,600 acres of farmland, adding 875 acres of new land and causing damage estimated at more than $800 million.

Ahu‘aila‘au was the eighth of 24 fissures that opened in the rural Leilani Estates subdivision in Pahoa. It became the dominant and longest-lasting eruption spot, leaving behind a 100-foot-plus tall cinder cone.

The Hawaii Board on Geographic Names is responsible for designating the official names and spellings of geographic features in Hawaii. Representation on the board consists of the chairpersons of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, as well as the director of the Office of Planning, the president of the University of Hawaii, the state land surveyor, and the director of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.

The new name, which must be used by state agencies, now goes to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names.