So excited for my friend, Penni, to take me volcano tripping on the big island today. We are going to tour the island and wind up at Kilauea tonight when you can see the glow.
Volcano Tripping on the Big Island — Kilauea, here we come!
And now the Artful Gents to tell you more about volcano tripping on the big island:
After three months of activity by Kilauea Volcano, Hawaiis largest active lava flow has nearly stopped, according to U.S. Geological Surveys Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Kilauea Volcano, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, began to erupt again at the end of September, sending lava pouring down the Kilauea Summit Crater, which is near the visitors center in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea volcano on Hawaii has been erupting from the top of the summit crater since Dec., with the U.S. Geological Survey saying it has been paused producing new lava. Now, the fizzing nature of the eruption has ended, and a steady flow of lava is again filling the volcanos caldera at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Show Source Texts
Lava Tree State Park is located right near where the new flow of lava is crossing the main road itself, and you can see the lava walls that it has left behind. A portion of the Saddle Road is closed at this time because of lava flows, but visitors can easily get access to Lua Manu and Pauahi craters, and the Kealakomo lookout and the views from Holei Sea Arch, before turning around to head back to the heart of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. No matter how long you are planning on staying on the Big Island, you owe it to yourself and your group to take the trip up the Southeast portion of the island to see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, check out the lava flows (when they are flowing), and experience one of the worlds most volcanically active areas. If you are fortunate enough to be on the Big Island while one of the volcanoes is active, lava watching is an absolute must-do. Show Source Texts
Even when the surface flows are not present, there are still some incredibly fun activities to partake in, learning about lava, as well as Hawaiis volcanic culture and natural history. These lava flows, though devastating to homes on the path of these flows, will slowly add more land to the Big Island, continuing the long geologic history of the islands natural construction. Prior to the start of the most recent volcanic activity at Kilauea, lava routinely entered the sea and built new land. In addition to Puuooo drainage, prolonged lava emission along the eastern flank of Kilauea Volcano has caused lava drainage far away from the Kilauea Volcanos Halemaumau, leading to a wide-scale, interior inward collapse and slumping at Halemaumau, as well as periodic earthquakes beginning on 17 May, resembling a similar pattern to that seen in the calderas slumping in 1924. Show Source Texts
In addition to the draining of Pu u O o, the protracted release of lava along Kilauea volcanos East Rift Zone has also led to significant drainage of lava away from Halema uma u at Kilauea volcanos, resulting in large scale inward slumping and collapse around Halema uma u and regular earthquakes since May 17, similar in pattern to the craters slumping during the 1924 event. The older rifts have been opening again, producing fluid phoehoe, rapidly replacing aa effusion, resulting in lava mass ponding at lower eaa. The lava lakes that Lava was flowing into had been cooling since May, when another set of eruptions stopped. Lava continued pouring over Christmas and into the new year, creating a watery lake. The eruption was so large, lava fountains fed the Pacific Ocean, having filled Kapoho Bay entirely. Show Source Texts
Bountys of fresh lava flowed from a newly opened fissure at Kilauea Volcano this weekend, producing rivers of orange-coloured magma flowing downslope toward the Pacific. A more than 300-foot-deep (91.44-meter) lava lake has formed inside Halemaumau crater since erupting began. When flying overhead, a person can see lava pouring from a sidewall, and forming a watery lake. Visitors at Kilauea volcano can only now view the lava from the air, but this could change as lava continues to flow. Show Source Texts
As it stands, getting in the air is the only way to view the lava, due to the craters depth and viewing area angles. See our hiking guide for the flow of the lava, for options once the lava moves out of the crater. Because viewing conditions vary on a daily basis, you should check for updated information on active surface flows just before you plan on seeing lava for yourself. Show Source Texts
The lower photo shows the path of the lava finger, which is heading toward the most populated area in the Hawaiian city of Pahoa. On 29 May, lava from the new flow in the northeastern direction overran Hawaii State Highway 132, cutting off the road from Kapoho to Pahoa. For decades, Kilauea Volcanoes has experienced ongoing flows of lava from a vent called Puuoo, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, gradually adding land in Hawaiis Southeast. Show Source Texts
Hawaiis Kilauea volcano has been erupting for 157 days, and has produced more than 41 million cubic metres (11 billion gallons) of lava during this period. A view of the eruptions, taken by a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory flyby, December 21, 2020. This broad view of the new lava lake was taken this morning, Oct. 1, 2021, from an eruption overflight by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The afternoon trip into the Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park provides views of the Kilauea crater itself, and since the crater only started to fill again with lava in 2021 following an eruption of the East Rift Zone in 2018, the crater is now sometimes illuminated by stars in the dusk. Show Source Texts
Cited Sources
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/willmcgough/2021/10/15/volcano-update-heres-how-to-view-the-flowing-lava-in-hawaii/ 0
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_lower_Puna_eruption 1
- https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/05/03/kilauea-lava-flow-steady-after-starts-stops/ 2
- https://bigislandguide.com/volcanoes-national-park-lava-viewing 3
- https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/hawaii-volcano-kilauea-tourism/index.html 4
- https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/84619/kilauea-lava-flow-reaches-hawaiian-town 5
- https://blog.firstam.com/commercial/as-the-lava-flow-slows-what-happens-to-hawaiis-new-land 6
- https://mashable.com/article/hawaii-lava-kilauea-adds-new-land-to-the-big-island 7
- https://www.lovebigisland.com/big-island-lava-viewing/ 8
- https://phys.org/news/2021-05-hawaii-kilauea-volcano-erupting-months.html 9
- https://abcnews.go.com/US/lava-continues-flow-hawaiis-klauea-volcano-active-world/story?id=80325640 10