Tag Archives: Lava

Kilauea Volcano’s firehose of lava

Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.
I’ve posted before (here, here, here and here) about trips I’ve made to see the current lava flow from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent. Lava first reached the coast on July 26, 2016 and has been pouring into the ocean ever since. However, on New Year’s Eve, much of the newly formed delta collapsed into the ocean taking with it a chunk of the older cliff. As a result, the lava tube carrying the active flow was suddenly left exposed and lava gushed out into the ocean as if from a firehose.

I was aware this was going on, but hadn’t really appreciated what it meant until this past Wednesday. Then, I read a report about the phenomenon, saw some photos, and realized this was something I had to see. Since the weather was favorable and it was early enough, I set out the same day.

After a three-hour drive and brisk hike I got to the viewing area, from the Kalapana side, around 5 p.m. These photos are from that trip. The top photo shows the firehose, lava gushing into the ocean in a constant, unwavering stream. When it hit the water, it generated a series of explosive reactions. The second photo shows the Lava Ocean tour boat nudging in toward the action as one of these explosions occurred. Below is a closer look at the stream with chunks of hot lava being hurled out into the water.

I stuck around until it got dark and then headed home – another hour-long hike and long drive – but it was so worth the effort. This was emphasized when, the next day, another cliff collapse caused the firehose to disappear from view. It might return, since the whole area is unstable, but it might also be gone for good.

I guess timing really is everything and I feel very fortunate that I was able to experience this phenomenon before it was gone.

For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it current eruption, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php.
Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.

Growth in the lava

Vegetation has reclaimed a section of the original 1969 fissure of the Mauna Ulu eruption of 1969.
In May of 1969, a series of earthquakes opened a large fissure alongside Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This was the beginning of what is known as the Mauna Ulu eruption. For five years, lava poured forth in a series of eruptions. Chain of Craters Road, completed only a few years earlier, was buried for several miles. Landmarks along the road were destroyed or irrevocably altered. A swathe of forest disappeared in flame.

When the eruptions finally ceased, life soon began to reappear on the barren lava landscape. In this photo, vegetation has reclaimed a section of the original 1969 fissure. Roots are anchored in cool, moist cracks in the lava. The tree on the left is particularly striking. Having started out in a crack on a vertical face, it has reached up to the light and is going strong. I like to think it shows how resilient nature can be.

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/. For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it’s eruptions, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html.

The path to Thurston Lava Tube

The interior of Thurston Lava Tube at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.The path to Thurston Lava Tube at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Thurston Lava Tube is one of the more visited spots in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It might not be as compelling as Puapoo Lava Tube, but it’s not far from the road and easily accessed. I tend to visit it whenever I’m in the park.

One thing I like about Thurston is the path to and through the tube. It starts with a drop into dense tropical forest, features a bridge leading to the maw of the tube, and then wiggles through the damp and the eerily lit interior until reaching the light at the other end.
The entrance to Thurston Lava Tube at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Puapo’o lava tube tour

The entrance to Puapo'o Lava Tube
The way in. No elevator here.
Ohia roots hang in the Puapo'o Lava Tube
Ohia trees on the surface send roots down into lava tubes. These roots take in water from the tube’s cool, moist air. In return they offer one of the few sources of organic material and are home to a kind of cricket.
Lava formations in the PUapo'o lava tube
A puapo’o (literally ‘flower head’) lava formation. There’s still uncertainty about how these are formed. To the left are lava-sicles, the lava tube equivalent of stalactites.
A low section of Puapo'o lava tube
Mind your head. There’s a 25-foot-long low section.

As part of the National Park Service centennial celebration, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been offering a guided tour of Puapo’o lava tube. This tour has been offered in the past, but not for several years.

Puapo’o is a pristine lava tube meaning that its rock formations are intact and life in the tube is largely undisturbed. Contrast this with the park’s popular Thurston lava tube, where all the finer lava details have long since been broken off by visitors.

There’s a hike to the tube, which is deep within a forest rich in tree ferns.

The tube entrance is accessed by a ladder and then it’s on into the dark. Whereas Thurston lava tube is well lit and has a mostly flat floor for easy walking, Puapo’o, which is about a mile long, was lit only by our headlamps and rocks littered the tube floor. It’s not a tour for the claustrophobic or nervous.

The exit from Puapo'o lava tube
The way out. Heading for the light.

Those rocks on the floor match recesses in the tube ceiling show where rock falls have happened. A month before, one of our rangers had been leading a tour when there was an earthquake, a common occurrence in the park. The group left the tube, but the next visit found a new rock fall.

We scrambled over rocks, and sat in the dark in a large, amphitheater-like part of the tube. As we progressed, the rangers pointed out different lava formations from lava-sicles to bathtub rings to puapo’os for which the tube is named. And even in this pitch dark place, there is life – moths, crickets, and spiders, one a huntsman and the other a tiny, near invisible thing that builds gossamer webs. Also, living on the tube walls, are unique microbial colonies, which are being studied for medical uses.

Eventually, we scrambled up a rocky slope and out through a narrow opening, back into the forest.

For more information about the Puapo’o lava tube tour, go to nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava-tube-tour.htm.

Bathtub rings on the walls of Puapo'o lava tube
Ranger Dean points out bathtub rings on the tube wall. These indicate the level of the flow through the tube at different times.