July 6, 2005

• Kilauea

  The first stop after we sailed from Honolulu was Hilo on the big island of Hawaii, where we rented a car and headed for Kilauea, which is thought to be the most active volcano in the world. It has been erupting continuously since 1983, causing the island to grow at the rate of about 3 inches a year, and making Hawaii the only state that is actually increasing in size. The eruption is currently a lava trickle, but scientists think it is building to a major eruption which will probably destroy the city of Hilo. We thought it was very considerate of it not to do that while we were there!

  I have seen volcanoes before, but never one this impressive. The caldera is huge. It looks like a hybrid of the beginning and the end of time.

  

  The area around Kilauea is a national park, and it’s a popular destination.

  

  I’m sure there were thousands of people there, but, because the area is so large (you can’t see across the caldera), the crowd is spread out and you don’t get the impression of being crowded. Walking on all that volcanic rock was interesting, because you could tell by the sound of your footsteps that there is a hollow under it. In places, you could see where the crust had broken and you could look down into the space below. It was a few feet to the next layer, so I was glad the surface did not break under me!

  In addition to the lava flow, the area also has hundreds of steam vents. Visitors are warned that if they have serious health problems, they should stay away because of the sulfur dioxide gas given off by the vents. It was cloudy and rainy the day we were there, but part of the haze you see in some of the pictures is caused by the steam. The steam was a good place to get warm, if you like the smell of rotten eggs, that is.

  Hawaiian tradition says that Pele, the volcano goddess, lives in Kilauea. A volcano goddess is someone whose good side you want to cultivate, so people still leave offerings for Pele.

  

  You can see that there is some vegetation, even though the area is mostly rock. Weathering has created a thin layer of soil in some places, but most of the plants bravely grow like this:

  

  The caldera itself is 165 meters deep and the walls are very sheer, so a trip down there would be very difficult, not to mention exceedingly stupid. There are fences to keep people from trying, but they are not very substantial. I did not see any evidence of anyone being so foolhardy, though. The area has many rifts, and it is possible to go down into some of them. Here is a picture of Dan and me in a rift. You can get some idea of how large it is if you remember that Dan is over 6 feet tall.

  

  In contrast to the area around the caldera itself, the mountainside below it is covered with a rain forest.

  

  Hidden amongst the plants of the forest is a series of lava tubes.

  

  The lave from the current eruption actually flows through one of these tubes. Not this one, of course.

  

  It was interesting to stroll through the lava tube.

  We enjoyed our day at Volcanoes National Park. On the way down the mountain, we stopped and ate at an interesting little outdoor cafe. Then we returned the rental car, boarded the ship, and set sail for Maui.

  • 9:39 pm
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