Getting to the Bottom of Kilauea Iki

Kilauea Iki crater is an amazing place to hike with a fascinating story that unfolds with every step you take!

In early November, 1959, swarms of earthquakes warned scientists at the Hawai'i Volcanoes Observatory that subsurface magma was on the move and may soon erupt. The question of where was answered loudly as a vent opened and roared to life in the floor of Kilauea Iki crater. For the next 5 weeks Kilauea Iki continued to erupt, radically changing the crater's appearance and putting on a glorious show.

View across Kilauea Iki crater with steaming Halema'uma'u in background

The newly opened vent hurled shimmering fountains of lava skyward, and at its peak of 1,900 feet, set the record for the highest lava fountaining ever recorded in Hawai'i. Cinder and spatter thrown from the vent created a hill, which was later named Pu'u Pua'i, meaning "gushing hill". Pu'u Pua'i is visible in the photo above at the center of the far edge of the crater.  

Kilauea Iki erupting in 1959, Photo: USGS

Lava first appeared in several places along a fissure near the edge of the crater floor, but soon coalesced into one mighty fountain.

Huge amounts of lava were erupted from the vent, which began to fill the 800 foot deep crater with molten lava.

The initial eruption produced 68 million tons of lava. By the end of the eruption another 18 million tons were added!

A lava lake formed across the crater which filled and drained back into the vent 17 times during the 5 week eruption. The lava lake was over 400 feet deep at it's peak and supported waves, much like ocean waves!

When the eruption ended on December 20th, Kilauea Iki's floor had filled in with lava over 400 feet deep.

Lava lake forming, Photo: USGS

The cooling lava retained the shape of gentle waves, and molten lava was not far below the surface. Geologists continued to sample the cooling lake and determined that the lake's molten center finally solidified in 1996.

Surface waves of lava on the crater floor

The lake may be solid now, but it's still very hot below the surface and you can feel hot steam coming from cracks in the crater floor.

Steam rises from the hot rock below

A young 'ohi'a tree takes hold in a crack

It's amazing to see native pioneer plants, like this tough, but pretty 'ohi'a, begin to recolonize the crater floor.








 

View from the rainforest

Along the crater rim, in the rainforest, there are some really great views and some beautiful native plants to check out.

It's a great place to learn a little about how Hawaiian forests work and get to know some of the unique native plants and birds found here.

Come get the most out of Kilauea Iki with us on our Volcano Crater Hike. You'll be glad you did! 

For more information click HERE.





 

Moonlight on Lava: What Makes it Shine?

When the moon is bright, Kilauea's newest lava fields take on an almost supernatural appearance as the strange shapes of cooling lava shine like silver glitter. The change from the lava's daytime appreance is quite dramatic, and our guests always notice it with a sense of delight.
 

Moonlit lava's silvery reflection

It's difficult to capture in a photograph, but the surface of the lava flow reflects a lot of light, and is especially sparkly in strong moonlight. 

Moonlight on the 2010 flow field

This silver shine is caused by silica, one of major mineral components of lava. There are several different types of lava made up of varying proportions of different minerals and gasses. All of the lavas from Hawai'i's volcanoes are basaltic. Basalts have a lower proportion of silica than other magmas, but sometimes it is more visible in certain types of basalt, because it rises to the surface of cooling lava. 

Silvery folds of new pahoehoe in afternoon light

Pahoehoe is the most common type on the Kalapana coastal flow fields. As it cools, silica often creates a glassy, shiny layer on the surface. This layer is ephemeral and erodes away with age, leaving the rock with a darker, duller appearance. 

It's a pretty impressive sight to see the silvery sheen of Kilauea's new lava, especially in the moonlight! We've had some great weather over the last week and the moon is high and bright.

Come enjoy it with us on our Lava, Wine and Stars Tour. For reservations click HERE.

New Lava Activity Updates on our Website!

We've done a little fall cleaning and moved around the virtual furniture a bit! Now we've added a daily lava activity update page to our website so you can check in with the latest on Kilauea and also the status of our tours.

To make it more fun and relevant we've included recent photos and news snippets about the latest happenings on this and other volcanoes around the world.

Whether you're planning a visit or just wondering what's going on here on the slopes of the world's most active volcano check us out here: LAVA ACTIVITY UPDATE

A Swirl Set in Stone

MEET THE PIONEERS!

There aren't many places on Earth where life gets a clean slate to start all over but Kilauea Volcano is one of them. Here vast areas of land are covered by recent lava flows of varying ages. It's a fascinating place to study how pioneer species take hold in a very harsh climate.

Yellow Lehua - Photo: Kim and Forest Starr

Hawai'i Island is estimated to be only about 500,000 years old. Pretty much a youngster, even in Hawaiian terms, when you consider Maui is 1.3 million years old and Kaua'i is a ripe old 5-6 million.

On the southern slopes of Kilauea you can find some of the island chain's newest land, some of which is not even completely cooled!  It's amazing that anything can survive on the lava flows, but survive it does, and it's a pattern that has repeated over and over through the millennia on each and every island in the chain. Every majestic Hawaiian forest began in just this way.

Here are a few of the trailblazers, the rugged pioneers, the leading edge of the green blanket of life that becomes the forest. When you find them on the lava it's like a look into the island's distant past.



Stereocaulon vulcani 
"Hawaiian Snow" Lichen

Close up of S. vulcani - Photo: Cindy Fontane

This frosty colored lichen is so named because it resembles a dusting of snow on bare lava flows. It's most often found on 'a'a and can appear within just a few years of cooling.

This rugged plant can survive the extreme sunlight and heat of the bare, dark colored rock because its light color reflects light and heat very well.

Seeds of other species can survive and germinate in the microclimate provided by this lichen. It has also been shown to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, adding precious nutrients to young soils.



Polypodyium pellucidum var. vulcanicum
'Ae Fern

This amazing fern is one of the first colonizers of new lava flows. Its tiny spores, blown by the wind, can endure harsh temperatures and dryness for long periods before it finds an opportune place to begin growing.

'Ae ferns on 3 year old lava flow

The 'ae takes advantage of the smallest bit of shade and shelter found in cracks and fissures to take hold where there is not even any soil.

Ferns are well represented in the native flora of Hawai'i because their tiny, tough spores can resist extreme cold and heat to travel around the globe on high altitude air currents, which occasionally deposited them here.



Metrosideros polymorpha
'Ohi'a lehua

A young 'ohi'a on the 1990 flow

This amazing and highly adaptive endemic tree can be found from sea level up to the tree line on all the main Hawaiian Islands. The tiny seeds of its ancestor may have arrived from New Zealand or the Marquesas on high altitude air currents millions of years ago. 

'Ohi'as are responsible for most of the organic soil found in newer Hawaiian forests as their fallen leaves break down around them. If you look around the base of these remarkable trees you'll see a lot more plants growing than in the surrounding bare lava. The trees offer shelter from the sun and drying winds, and a steady stream of nutrients as their fallen leaves decay.

The beautiful lehua blossoms also provide an important source of shelter and food for native birds, many of which are nectarivores. 

Hi'iakaikapoliopele - Illustration: Solomon Enos

In Hawaiian mythology, Pele's youngest sister, Hi'iakaikapoliopele wears a magical skirt made of fern fronds. In many stories, after Pele covers land with lava in fits of rage, Hi'iaka appears and makes it green again. She lives amongst the many ferns in groves of 'ohi'a lehua, which are sacred to her. Here on the southern slopes of Kilauea we can witness this dramatic cycle beginning again.

I just love this illustration of her by Solomon Enos on the cover of the ancient epic Ka Mo'olelo o Hi'iakaikapoliopele originally written down by Ho'oulumahiehie.

 

You can meet these and other exciting plants with equally sparkling personalities on our Lava, Wine and Stars Tour. 

For reservations click HERE

Until next time - Aloha!

LAVA, WINE and STARS!!!

Another Gorgeous Sunset Over the Lava Fields

 Glow Watching for the Gourmand!

Our new Lava Wine and Stars Tour is a real hit and we've been having a whole lot of fun with it. It's a chance for us to share the beauty of this unreal place with fun and interesting guests from all over the world.

Interesting shapes are everywhere and some of it is still hot!

The tour begins with an fairly easy walk through the 1990 lava flow which covered the Village of Kalapana. We'll see amazing rock formations with wonderful colors and textures and interesting artifacts from the time before the lava flowed. 

Rainbow Colors Shine from a Gorgeous Lava Rock

Kipukas are places of refuge for native plants and animals and serve as seed banks 

Then we'll explore some of the island's newest lava, the 2010 flow. We'll even get to visit an area where the lava flow is so deep that it's still cooling and you can feel the warm steam escaping from cracks in the rock. It really is alive!

A visit to a patch of forest that was spared by the flows (a kipuka) rounds out the tour as we'll see interesting plants and animals and explore how they arrived, changed and survive in the unique geographic isolation of the Hawaiian Islands.

Kipukas are really special places. They're oases of life in a sea of fresh lava. Some people believe that if a place was spared by lava it means it is special in some way. The plants and animals who live in these island oases must certainly believe the same! 

Mmmmmm....Hiking makes you hungry!

We'll enjoy the expansive view at sunset with a glass of wine or cold beer and an assortment of delicious appetizers made with many fresh, local ingredients.

Peaceful Evening Light as We Wait For the Glow

At dusk the stars begin to appear and sometimes we can see the entire Milky Way above us. Quite often we can see the red glow from Pu'u 'O'o Vent reflected in clouds above the pali.

Half Moon and a Million Stars

 I stayed a little while longer to clean up and enjoy a little moonlit hula Pele all by myself.

For more information about the Lava Wine and Stars Tour click HERE

For reservations click HERE

Mahalo to all of our wonderful guests for visiting this land. May all of you take something special from this magical place and keep it always in your memory.

Aloha!

Aloha and welcome to our blog!

Here at Lavaland Hawaii, we are fortunate to be able to spend our days and evenings exploring the Big Island's many natural wonders, from misty fern filled rainforests to spectacular molten lava flows. 

There really is no substitute for experiencing Hawaii's magic first hand, so we hope you'll be able to join us soon! Until then, follow us here for a peek at the natural splendor that awaits you.

To learn more about us or reserve a tour click HERE to visit us at lavalandhawaii.com

Be sure to visit our photo gallery to see the latest photos and videos of lava and forest walks.