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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Steam rises from the hot rock below |
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| 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.
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| View from the rainforest |
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.
