"Hawaiian Volcanoes--Sparks Fly and the... " a Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Travel Page by dlytle

Of all the formidable figures in the Hawaiian pantheon, the best known is undoubtedly Pele, the goddess of fire. Here is the story about how she came to the Big Island of Hawaii.

Many years ago, while still living in Tahiti, Pele got into a heated quarrel with her sister Namakaokaha'i, a powerful goddess of the sea. At first it was only a match of words, but then Namakaokaha'i commanded huge tidal waves to rush over Pele’s lands and home, destroying them.

Realizing she had been defeated, pele decided to flee Kahiki (Tahiti) with other members of her family. Her elder brother, Kamohoali’i, the shark god, provided them with a large sailing canoe and guided them north across the Pacific to Hawai’i. All the while, Namakaokaha'i followed them, generating mighty storms in hopes of sinking their canoe.

Searching for a permanent home in Hawai’i, Pele first landed on the island of Kaua’i, where she used her magical spade, Paoa, to create Pu’u o Pele, the Hill of Pele. For awhile, she and her brothers and sisters lived contentedly there, but then Namakaokaha'i saw their fires from a high lookout point. She was swift and brutal in her attack, causing water to flow in and extinguish Pele’s flames.

Pele then escaped to O’ahu, where she used Paoa to carve Aliapa’akai (Salt Lake), Puowaina (Punchbowl), Kohelepelepe (Koko Crater)(, and Le’ahi (Diamond Head). From her elevated perch, Namakaokaha'i spotted these settlements and once again summoned floods that prevented Pele’s fires from burning.

Frustrated, Pele moved on to Moloka’i and then to Maui, but she had no better luck keeping hidden from Namakaokaha'i. On the slopes of Haleakala on Maui, the two sisters engaged in a fierce battle, and it seemed as though Namakaokaha'i had killed Pele, leaving huge mounds of broken lava at the base of Haleakala at a place now known as Na iwi o Pele (the bones of Pele).

But gazing from her strategic post to the island of Hawai’i, Namakaokaha'i saw the ‘uhane, the spirit form, of Pele, floating in red-tinged volcanic smoke. Pele had dug a mammoth pit at Kilauea and kindled blazing fires within it. Located many miles from the sea, Kilauea was safely out of Namakaokaha'i’s reach. With her sister no longer a threat, Pele had found a suitable home at last.

The volatile fire goddess Pele definitely has left her mark in the Volcano region, a geologic wonderland of ebony ‘a’a (rough) and pahoehoe (smooth) lava fields, gaping calderas, and searing steam vents that can melt the flesh off a person in just a few moments.

Also found here, in striking contrast to this starkness, are lush pockets of plants and wildlife miraculously spared by the “fire in motion” lava flows as well as verdant rain forests where giant ferns and tropical forests grow so densely they block out the sun.

Volcanoes are monuments to earth's origin, evidence that its primordial forces are still at work. During a volcanic eruption, we are reminded that our planet is an ever changing environment whose basic processes are beyond human control. As much as we have altered the face of the earth to suite our needs, we can only stand in awe before the power of an eruption.

Volcanoes are also prodigious land builders - they have created the Hawaiian Island chain. Kilauea and Mauna Loa, two of the world's most active volcanoes, are still adding land to the island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is the most massive mountain on the earth, occupying an area of 10,000 cubic miles. Measured from its base on the seafloor, it rises 30,000 feet, approximately 1,000 feet higher than Mount Everest. In contrast to the explosive continental volcanoes, the more fluid and less gaseous eruptions of Kilauea and Mauna Loa produce fiery fountains and rivers of molten lava. These flows, added layer upon layer, produced a barren volcanic landscape that served as a foundation for life. Hundreds of species of plant and animals found their way across the vast Pacific on wind, water, and the wings of birds. A few survived, adapted, and prospered during this time of isolation. The arrival of humans, first Polynesians, then Europeans, and the plants and animals that they brought with them drastically altered this evolutionary showcase, this grand experiment.

Today Hawaii Volcanoes National Park displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution - processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct human culture. Created to preserve the natural setting of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, the park is also a refuge for the island's native plants and animals and a link to its human past. Park managers work to protect the resources and promote understanding and appreciation of the park by visitors. Research by scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has made Kilauea one of the best-understood volcanoes in the world, shedding light on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and the beginning of planet Earth.

Volcanoes attest to the dynamic nature of the earth. Divided into rigid plates, the outermost layer of the earth drifts slowly over the more plastic mantle beneath. Most volcanic activity occurs along the edge of these plates, forming a "ring of fire." The series of volcanoes that include Washington's Mount Saint Helens, Alaska's Katmai, Japan's Mount Fuji, and the Philippines' Mount Pinatubo define the margins of the Pacific plate.

Why are there volcanoes in Hawaii, which is located in the middle of the Pacific plate? Plumes of magma rise from a "hot spot" deep within the mantle. This fluid charged with gas, melts and pushes its way to the surface, erupting on the ocean floor to create a seamount. After several hundred thousand years and countless eruptions, the volcano rises above sea level to form an island. The volcano continues to grow until movement of the Pacific plate carries the island off the hot spot.

During the last 70 million years the Pacific plate has acted as a conveyor belt, moving the islands northwest off the hot spot at the rate of about four inches a year. The park's active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, continue the island building process that formed the 3,500 mile Emperor Seamount-Hawai'ian Island chain. But they are not the last; to the southeast, Lo'ihi seamount is rising from the ocean floor.

Halemaumau crater was believed to be the home of Pele, the volcano goddess and has been one of the most active vents. On May 24, 1924, a violent eruption occurred there. From 1905 until 1924, a dazzling lake of molten lava gurgled and circulated within the pit of Halemaumau. Then, over a period of only two days, the lava drained away very quickly leaving behind a pit that was 112 m (370 feet) deep and 520 m across (1700 feet). But with the lava lake gone, ground water was able to quickly penetrate deeply into the volcano. On April 24, 1924 unusual things started to happen at the crater. There was an earthquake that shook the summit of Kilauea and brought lava boiling up to the surface. The streams of lava and pyroclastics flowed 45 kilometers (28 miles) down the east rift zone up to the eastern tip of the island near Kapoho. On April 22 and 23, Kapoho residents felt more than 200 earthquakes.

A few days later, the floor of the pit of Halemaumau began to sink very fast. Slabs of rocks peeled off of the walls and fell to the bottom of the pit. Hot ash and gravel swirled in clouds out over the rim creating a huge ash storm. On May 11, a Hawaiian National Park ranger noticed some hot stones on the rim of Halemaumau. Apparently, a small steam explosion had occurred overnight.

Then a huge steam explosion occurred on May 18 and an ash column shot 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) high up in the air. Smaller earthquakes and explosions were often felt. The atmosphere became charged with static electricity that caused much discomfort to some residents that lived near the pit crater. The ash column created by the explosion turned into a huge gray mud storm as it fell back to earth.

After the terrific blast of May 18, milder explosions continued. When the storms and dust finally settled on May 24, Kilauea caldera was covered with huge rocks and gravel. There were boulders that weighed as much as 8 tons (8,000 kilograms) that were thrown as far as 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the rim of Halemaumau. The cauldera of Halemaumau was almost twice as wide and eight times deeper than it was before.

Since 1924 at least 17 eruptions and 4 collapses have occurred in this caldera. The net effect has been a slight increase in the crater’s diameter and a decrease in its depth—now about 275 feet deep (85 meters).