Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Journey into Kīlauea’s fuming caldera, where the Hawaiian Trailhead Follow this historic trail and experience is linked to the land. experience the wonders of Stops along this trail reveal the story of changing Kīlauea volcano. life within Kīlauea caldera. The path leads through rain forest to the heart of one of the world’s most Since it was established in 1846, guests of Volcano House have active volcanoes. used this trail to hike into the caldera. Between 1865 and 1924, Halemaʻumaʻu Crater usually held a molten lake of lava. Guests Start: Crater Rim Trail, behind Volcano House would be treated to views of flowing or fountaining lava and often a churning lake of molten rock. End: Kīlauea Caldera Floor Tourists of the era Map: See the center pages
Trail Guide Halema’uma’u Trail enjoyed the eruptions Walking distance: 1.8 miles (2.9 km) round trip but showed little to stop 10 and return respect for the local culture. They fried Estimated walking time: 1-1.5 hours round trip eggs on the lava, Descent/Ascent: The trail drops 425 feet (130 m), lit Cuban cigars return the same route, or via Byron Ledge, in hot cracks and
Kīlauea Iki and Crater Rim Trail (1 mile longer). scorched the edges of NPS / HAVO ARCHIVE postcards to send home. The Volcano House supplied the eggs Trail rating: Moderate and postcards, as well as guides who kept hotel guests safe while For your safety and health: performing these stunts. stay on the trail Native guide Alex Lancaster (left) avoid cliff edges led hundreds of Volcano House wear sturdy walking shoes guests across the caldera. He rescued carry drinking water dozens more, including the writer take protective gear for sun and rain Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). As the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory TRAIL CLOSED BEYOND STOP 10 was being established in 1912, Due to high levels of sulphur dioxide gas and the Lancaster was hired as a guide and current explosive nature of Halema‘uma‘u, the general roustabout. His experiences caldera floor is closed and inaccessible beyond close to Kīlauea’s activity made him a
trail stop 10. NPS / HAVO ARCHIVE great assistant to the scientists.
cover photo: NPS/DAVE BOYLE Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide
Hawaiian stories, legends and chants The story of Pele and Hi‘iaka documents the reflect the beauty and complexity of explosive formation of the caldera in the late 1400s. 1 the forest and the land. Kīlauea did not blow off its top. It collapsed inward upon itself! According to Hawaiian oral tradition, the caldera formed Within the heart of Kīlauea, a great during an epic battle between Pele, the Hawaiian volcano magma reservoir swells with magma prior to deity, and her younger sister, Hi‘iakaikapoliopele (Hi‘iaka). reservoir inflates an eruption. Pele had sent Hi‘iaka to fetch her lover, Lohi‘au, In the late 1400s however, large volumes from Kaua‘i. Upon returning, Hi‘iaka discovered that of magma erupted or moved elsewhere Kawahine‘aihonua, in the volcano, emptying the magma (Pele, the woman reservoir. who eats the land) Its internal support withdrawn, the top had broken her magma promise and set fire reservoir of the mountain collapsed, accompanied deflates to Hi‘iaka’s beloved by explosive eruptions. ‘ōhi‘a forests. Great blocks of the old summit slumped inward. The gaping depression that To avenge this formed was ringed with stepped terraces transgression, descending to its floor. Hi‘iaka made love to Lohi‘au at the volcano summit The resulting caldera was over 1,600 feet summit of the collapse (500 m) deep and 3 miles (5 km) wide. volcano, in full view of her sister. Late 1400s You are here Pele lashed out in • anger and buried Lohi‘au beneath a
© KANE TRUST flood of lava. Driven by remorse, Hi‘iaka dug furiously to recover the body. Rocks flew as she excavated the great pit. Their Look in the distance along the caldera’s rim to see brother stopped Hi‘iaka from digging deeper, for doing so the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum. would surely have let in water and put out the fires of Pele. They are more than 2 miles (3 km) away and offer the best views of Thus the great caldera of Kīlauea was formed. volcanic activity that might be occurring within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater. Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide
“E nihi ka hele . . . Hawai‘i’s most wide spread tree is mai pūlale i ka ʻike a ka make.” the sacred ‘ōhi‘a. Its lehua blossoms 2 Watch your step . . . and don’t let 3 inspire ha‘i mo‘olelo (storytelling) things you see lead you into trouble. and hula (dance). Hawaiian proverb
People worldwide In a popular contemporary story, a recognize the cleansing royal couple, ‘Ōhi‘a and Lehua, were qualities of steam. Like once inseparable lovers. Pele becomes other cultures, many attracted to the handsome young Hawaiians believe in prince, ‘Ōhi‘a, and appears to him as going to the house of an enticing young woman. But when their god with a clear she asks for his love, ‘Ōhi‘a remains mind, free from dark true to Lehua and respectfully turns or distracting thoughts. down her advances. Enraged by the Devout believers also © SCOTT SUCHMAN, WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS rejection, Pele transforms ‘Ōhi‘a into
hiʻuwai, prepare their bodies by cleansing with a ritual bath in the rough-barked tree. NPS / DAVE BOYLE the ocean or a sauna in volcanic steam, the breath of Pele. Lehua pleads with other gods to turn ‘Ōhi‘a back to his human Where does this steam come from? It is created when rainwater form. They are reluctant to interfere with Pele’s design, but are percolates down through thousands of cracks until it reaches sympathetic to Lehua’s plight. Instead of changing ‘Ōhi‘a back hot rocks. The water flashes to steam, and rises through fissures into a man, the gods transform Lehua into the exquisite blossom to exit the ground at a scalding 140–200° F (60–94° C)! that adorns the masculine tree. In this way, the two lovers are inseparable for all time. The ground surface around a steam vent is often no more than a thin crust that weakly covers steam-filled pockets and deep The ‘ōhi‘a is also cracks. In 1992, a young woman slipped into a nearby vent and believed to be the was scalded to death. “E nihi ka hele” and stay on the trail. embodiment of Passionate songs and Laka, a goddess of constant chatter of the ‘apapane hula. The nodding fill the forest. One joy of hiking of the branches in the forest is hearing the many inspire hula dancers, songs of the ‘apapane. Listen who mimic their for this honeycreeper’s whistles, movements and buzzes, clucks, trills, and squawks. adorn themselves © JACK JEFFREY Its wings whir as it flies overhead. NPS / JAY ROBINSON with lehua blossoms. Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide
Hāpuʻu tree ferns seem to live Young fronds of the ama u fern forever. The elders nurture the ʻ ʻ display Pele’s fiery red brand. 4 keiki (children) of the forest. 5
Hāpuʻu grow and reach skyward for 50 to 100 years. When its ‘Ama‘u ferns may own weight becomes too great, it crashes to the forest floor. look like their bigger Holding onto life, the fallen giant sends out new roots. Its leafy cousin, hāpu‘u, but the fronds turn upwards towards the light and the hāpuʻu slowly difference is simple continues to grow as a tree. to see. ‘Ama‘u fronds branch only once, The tree ferns around you may live for over a thousand years. hāpu‘u branch twice. “Walking” through the forest, they repeat the seemingly endless cycle by continuing to grow upright after they fall. Look for According to legend, their preexistent trunks at the base of each hāpuʻu. Since they the ʻamaʻu fern is a are no longer needed, the old logs slowly rot away and provide kino lau (body form) moisture and nourishment for a variety of new plants. Mosses, of Kamapuaʻa, the ferns, and tree saplings quickly shroud the rotting logs, vying for pig-man demigod who their place in the shade. changes his form into © KANE TRUST pigs, fish, or plants. Rain and lush green forests are his domain. Hāpuʻu is believed to be For awhile, he and Pele lived as an unlikely husband and wife. a kino lau (body form) of the earth goddess Haumea. Like Hāpuʻu, when Haumea But they did not always get along. In one story, Kamapuaʻa ages, she defies death and is comes to the caldera to woo the goddess, but Pele rejects him restored to youth. Haumea with contempt. In the ensuing also gave unusual birth Look battle, Kamapuaʻa gains to other creatures, each for ‘ama‘u’s the upper hand and nearly emerged from different places fiery young drowns Pele’s fires with his on her body, reminiscent of fronds. They relentless rain. Gasping for life, how plants sprout from the are often pink Pele summons power from her trunks of hāpuʻu. or red, evidence family and focuses it against of Kamapuaʻa’s her antagonist. Smarting from Rest among these forest epic battle his burns, Kamapuaʻa changes elders and listen to their with Pele’s into an ʻamaʻu fern to escape
ancient songs and stories. NPS / JAY ROBINSON scorching lava. from Pele’s wrath. NPS / DAVE BOYLE Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide
Alien ginger removal revealed “I walea ka manu i ka ‘ula o ka lehua” 6 evidence of a notorious visitor and 7 The bird is attracted by the redness of his noteworthy traveling companion. the next lehua. Hawaiian proverb
The destructive weed, Himalayan Yellow The Hawaiian proverb above means Ginger, had invaded the forest along this that a young person who has a special trail. They grew thick root masses and someone is often attracted by the charms choked out native plants on the forest floor. of another. In other words, “the grass is In efforts to restore the forest, volunteer greener on the other side.” stewardship crews have cleared most of the weeds from this area. Native plants have Hawaiians noticed that ʻapapane were returned and a healthy forest is evident. constantly on the move, sipping nectar NPS / JAY ROBINSON from one lehua blossom and quickly After the work crews exposed the large boulder just off the trail, moving on to the next. hiker Hugh Montgomery noticed mysterious writing on the
rock’s face: “B Boyd”, “ J Webster”, “Yacht Wanderer”, and “51”. © JACK JEFFREY The yellow ʻamakihi and the red ʻapapane are two nectar-loving birds seen along this trail. Their His curiosity piqued, Montgomery’s research revealed that born thin, curved beaks reach deep into flowers. Rolling their bristle- a Scot, Benjamin Boyd sailed to Australia on his impressive yacht, tipped tongues into straws, they draw in sweet nectar. Wanderer, in 1842. After a series of failed entrepreneurial projects, Boyd suffered Active birds depend on ʻōhiʻa blossoms for a nectar snack every financial and social humiliation and sailed few seconds and ʻōhiʻa rely on birds to spread their pollen. In the to California to try his luck in the gold park, ʻōhiʻa flowers mainly during the winter and mid-summer, rush of ‘49. Boyd befriended artist John yet individual trees may be found flowering throughout the year. Webster, and the two sailed to Hawai‘i in The ʻōhiʻa and the bird’s survival are critically linked. 1851 and hiked this trail into the caldera Unlike many other birds, ʻapapane do not establish and defend to see the “terrifying” wonders of Pele. During their visit, they a territory. They must be on the move, always in search of nectar marked their presence by chiseling their names on this boulder. and for the redness of the next lehua.
The two next sailed to Guadalcanal where Boyd was killed by Watch for nectar feeders. natives. Webster survived the attack, took command of the yacht From your seat, look for a cluster of and sailed for Australia where he ran onto a reef and lost the red lehua blossoms. Keep your eyes ship. He later chronicled his adventures in “The Last Cruise of on it, and within a few minutes, you’ll the Wanderer” and settled in New Zealand where his family and probably spot an ‘apapane sipping © JACK JEFFREY OSWALD WALTERS BRIEFLY, 1846, COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA legacy reside to this day. nectar from the brilliant flowers. Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide “Lawe liʻiliʻi ka make a ka Hawaiʻi, These giant boulders fell in lawa nui ka make a ka haole.” 8 landslides triggered by strong 9 Death by Hawaiians takes a few at a time, earthquakes in 1983. but death by foreigners takes many. Hawaiian proverb
Four volcanoes dynamically reshape this island. Frequent This old proverb refers to human diseases that were tragically tremors proclaim internal adjustment as the island grows and introduced by early foreigners. Epidemics swept through the settles. The strongest earthquakes trigger landslides from the islands, killing 3 out of 4 Hawaiians within a few decades. steep caldera walls. A 6.6 magnitude earthquake in 1983 rocked the entire island and shattered the overhead cliffs. These huge Native Hawaiian plants and animals are currently undergoing a boulders thundered down and buried the trail. similar extermination by foreign species. Alien species are those moved by humans to areas outside their native ranges. Once A larger rockfall transported, they are removed from herbivores, parasites, and simultaneously diseases that kept them in balance and they quickly become pests. occurred a few hundred yards farther along Faya (also called firetree) is the cliff. No one was one of the most disruptive injured, but a section alien plants in the park. Native of the old Crater Rim to volcanic islands off the Drive (right) fractured coast of Europe and Africa, and crashed down to it was introduced to Hawai‘i
the caldera’s floor. NPS PHOTO about 100 years ago. Each fall, female trees produce tens of Hawaiian chants tell us that when Pele is angered, tremors rock thousands of seeds that are the land as she stomps her feet. Large quakes trigger rockfalls NPS / DAVE BOYLE eaten and dispersed by birds. in the caldera area every decade. They remind us of the natural forces that reshape our land and the power and presence of Pele. Faya thrives in nitrogen-poor volcanic soils and spreads rapidly. They grow much faster than native ‘ōhi‘a and forms very ook for ‘ōhi‘a that bear clusters of L dense stands that displace all native plants on the forest’s floor. reddish-brown roots hanging from their Currently, faya infests 40,000 acres (162 square km) of the park. branches. These aerial roots form when a The trees in this area have been treated and killed, but a look tree is damaged or stressed by an eruption or around you reveals how faya has transformed the beauty of this other event. Along this part of the trail, the native Hawaiian forest into a dark wasteland. stress was caused by rockfalls from above. Look for the offending boulders near ‘ōhi‘a “. . . death by foreigners takes many.”
trees with aerial roots along the trail ahead. NPS / DAVE BOYLE Halema‘uma‘u TTrailo preserve Guide Hawai‘i Volcanoes AHU Halema‘uma‘u Trail Guide National Park for the enjoyment of present Ahu (stacked rocks) mark TRAIL STOPS and future generations, do not collect or the trail across disturb natural, cultural, or historical features. the caldera. Ground markers on lava Please do not or numbered posts in the forest indicate Please help protect your park... disturb them or build new ones. stops described take only photographs and inspiration, in this guide. leave only footprints and goodwill.
1921
Halema uma u 1919 ‘ ‘ Crater 19 ‘Ōhi‘aokalani 1971 1894 18 Uw kahuna Trail Map Halema‘uma‘u Trail 17 1971 and 1974 eruption fissures 16
1921 1975 15 14 1919
1882-
1885 1885 13
lava flow
Kīlauea Iki
Crater
12
1971 1919
lava fow Byron Ledge K 11 ÏLAUEA CALDERA (Uwēaloha FLOOR IS CLOSED BEYOND THIS LINE
10 1.0 mi 9 1.6 km 8 Waldron LedLedge e
Overlook 0.4mi 7 0.6km TRAIL CLOSED BEYOND STOP 10 6 0.3mi 0.5km 5 4 3 Due to high levels of sulphur dioxide Volcano House 1 North 2 gas and the current explosive nature of Trailhead Halema‘uma‘u, the caldera floor is closed and inaccessible beyond trail stop 10. K˛lauea Visitor Center Halema‘uma‘uAREA Trail Guide CLOSED AREA CLOSEDHalema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Since Ellis’s visit, an additional 600 feet (180 m) of lava has filled “Step lightly, for you are on the caldera. The inner terraces that Ellis sketched in 1823 have 10 sacred ground.” long been buried beneath layers of new lava flows. Within a Hawaiian’s advice to reverend William Ellis, 1823 few hundred years, the caldera will probably continue to fill and eventually collapse once again. Yet these longer geologic cycles ultimately results in the overall growth of the great volcano.
1823 The breathtaking view ahead culminates at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater. It is the site of the current eruption which began in 2008 with an explosion that created a new crater on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u. Ever since, a churning lake of molten lava rises and falls in the new crater. As it erodes the crater’s walls, they collapse with sudden explosions that pose a significant hazard to the area. A suffocating cloud of sulfur dioxide swirls from the vent. The area ahead remains closed due to ongoing impacts of these significant volcanic hazards. When Reverend Ellis began ELLIS, 1825, COURTESY OF BISHOP MUSEUM his approach back in 1823, Your hike down In 1823, Reverend William Ellis visited Kīlauea caldera on his his principal Hawaiian guide has crossed over the tops journey around the island of Hawaiʻi. He was the first foreigner to turned back and refused to of down-faulted terraces. be shown the home of Pele. By the time Ellis arrived, more than lead him to the forbidden Look across the caldera to 300 years after the summit collapses of the late 1400s, the caldera caldera (the sacred home of see other terraces below had begun to refill. He measured the chasm from the highest Pele). The others showed Jaggar Museum. How many rim to its depths, it was over 1,000 feet (300 m) deep. His sketch Ellis the way but warned terraced steps are there from (above) documented a series of terraces that stepped down to a him to “Step lightly, for you the rim to the caldera floor? vast inner crater that occupied nearly half the caldera’s floor. are on sacred ground.” (find the answer on next page)
Jaggar Museum 1823 Today Halema‘uma‘u Crater Volcano House
1,000 ft. (300 m) 400 ft. (122 m)
You You are here would have been here Halema‘uma‘uAREA Trail Guide CLOSED AREA CLOSEDHalema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Hawaiian believers continue sacred You are crossing the surface of two rituals at Uwēkahuna and hold great great lakes of solidified lava. 11 reverence for this dramatic land. 12
During Reverend Ellis’ travel Ē Pele, eia ka ʻōhelo, ʻau up to the caldera, his guides Ē kaumaha aku wau iā ʻoe. Ē ʻai hoʻi au kekahi. could not locate any drinking water. Everyone in the party Oh Pele, here are your ʻōhelo grew parched, but their I offer some to you. Hawaiian guides warned I’ll also eat some. against quenching their thirst by eating Pele’s sacred ʻōhelo berries. Ellis ignored In August 1971, Kīlauea erupted from fissures along the southeast their warnings as mere section of the caldera (see map). The brief but spectacular superstition. But the locals eruption generated a mile (1.6 km) long line of fountains up to both feared and loved Pele 250 feet (75 m) high. In only 10 hours, new lava had blanketed and did not eat her berries nearly one-fifth of the caldera’s floor (see map). Here, the flows until within sight of the pooled to create a vast molten lake. Within weeks, it had cooled crater, and only after offering and completely solidified into a flat plain of lava that covered a few berries towards Pele’s nearly one square mile (2.6 square km). home at Halemaʻumaʻu and reciting the time-honored Three years later, in July 1974, another eruption occurred in the
© DIETRICH VAREZ chant (above left). same area. A new lava lake almost completely buried the older one. Farther along the trail, you will step down from this 1974 At that time, the heiau (temple) of Oalalauo overlooked Pele’s lava onto the outer edge of the older 1971 lava lake. The goddess home from the brink of the closest cliff. There, the noted kahuna lives up to her name Pelehonuamea — Pele, creator of new land. (priest) Kamakaʻakaʻakua revealed the wishes of the volcano goddess and assigned sacred duties to her devout believers. Look for “squeeze-ups”. As the 1974 lava lake cooled, the Uwēkahuna, the sacred cliffs below Jaggar Museum, are named thin surface crust contracted and for wailing priests. Chants and stories cite five sacred steps cracked. Molten lava oozed up (down-faulted terraces) along an old trail that lead from the top through the cracks and formed a at ʻŌhiʻaokalani (ʻŌhiʻa of the heavens) to the caldera floor and weld between the two plates. These then to the home of the goddess, the beautiful woman of the pit. formations are called squeeze-ups. Halema‘uma‘uAREA Trail Guide CLOSED AREA CLOSEDHalema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Pioneers send down roots and Earth tremors heralded the onset homestead these 1885 lava flows. of the 1954 eruption. The life of the 13 14 volcano was renewed.
Over the last 100 years, the surface of this lava With little warning, a fissure opened has crumbled into small particles. Intense on the floor and extended up the inner tropical sun and volcanic acid rain have walls of Halemaʻumaʻu. Molten rock further broken down and released minerals fountained skyward from the freshly from the lava. Wind-blown sand, ash, dead opened crevice. Minutes later, a second leaves and insects collect in cracks and fissure unzipped on the floor of the surface depressions. These ingredients hold caldera near Halemaʻumaʻu. A curtain of moisture and provide food. Many believe lava jetted from the vent. Eight hours later, that Pele’s sister, Hiʻiaka, plants the first after covering 140 acres (0.56 square km) seeds on fresh lava and nurtures the with new lava, the eruption
new forest. USGS/J. P. EATON, MAY 31, 1954 was essentially over.
Her first labors produce algae, ferns, New life appeared on this barren flow ʻōhiʻa, lichens, and mosses, usually in within a few months. Here as elsewhere that order. Within 10 – 20 years, small in Hawaiʻi, animal pioneers precede plants. shrubs crowd the cracks and crannies These include a large endemic spider and a as the original colonizers are joined wingless cricket. The nocturnal lava crickets by pūkiawe ʻaʻaliʻi, kūpaoa, and ʻōhelo do not sport the equipment necessary to make the cricket sound. (photos at left in order from top to Perhaps they lost the ability to call for mates because hungry lava bottom right). spiders found their noisy cricket ancestors. Only “cricketless” crickets survived to pass along their “cricketless” genes. Because new lava doesn’t hold water very well and is The dark lava cricket is found nowhere else in the bankrupt of vital nutrients, world except on young flows on the island of these pioneering plants Hawaiʻi. They abandon a lava flow when vegetation struggle to survive and covers it—within 20 to 100 years. The eruption of grow very slowly. Some 1954 provided fresh lava habitat for this critically of the small ʻōhiʻa trees on dependent species. Continuous eruptions that this flow may well be over produce fresh new habitat is required for the 100 years old. existence of the Hawaiian lava cricket. Halema‘uma‘uAREA Trail Guide CLOSED AREA CLOSEDHalema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Pele’s breath feeds and nurtures This great spatter rampart was delicate crystal formations on the created overnight in the most recent 15 surface of this young flow. 16 summit eruption.
In the predawn After seven years hours of November of repose, Pele 29, 1975, a awakened at magnitude 7.2 noon on April 30, earthquake, centered 1982. Following on the south flank three hours of of Kīlauea, violently earthquakes, a new rocked the entire fissure formed at state. It was the the crater’s eastern largest earthquake rim, steam bellowed
USGS/HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY in over a century, forth and within
generating a tsunami that killed two campers at a coastal campsite. minutes . . . lava! USGS/J. P. LOCKWOOD, APRIL 31, 1982 The earthquake shook with such force that it triggered a small eruption here on the caldera floor that lasted less than one day. People came from all corners to witness Pele’s awesome power. Traffic backed-up 20 miles (34 km) from the park toward Hilo. Since that eruption, white zigzag lines have appeared across the Over 30,000 people crowded the overlooks and those who surface of the flow. These are mineral deposits that form along stayed late were treated to the wonders of an all night eruption. active thermal cracks. The process begins when rain water seeps It is said that the line of fountains blasting from a fissure is down, contacts hot rocks, and flashes into steam. The rising hot Ke‘ōahikamakaua—Pele’s brother with his fiery lava spears. vapors dissolve the calcium and silicon from the surrounding rocks. At the cool ground surface, the steam leaves behind Spatter (sticky globs of airborne lava) calcium carbonate and gypsum that form tiny white crystals. cooled as it fell and built this wall, called a spatter rampart, overnight. Look closer into one of the Take a closer look and you will find sheltered steam crannies to find spatter oxidized to red-orange where it delicate crystals. was exposed to blasting steam. Where Where crystals are exposed, rain- molten spatter froze as it dripped from water redissolves the minerals and overhangs, it formed nāhuku (stalactites). washes them away to leave only a Please take great care to leave the fragile beauty just as you found it. NPS/JAY ROBINSON
NPS/JAY ROBINSON thin, white crust along the cracks. Halema‘uma‘uAREA Trail Guide CLOSED AREA CLOSEDHalema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Smelly sulfur dioxide fumes These explosions occurred when the active lava lake in the crater 17 emitted from the crater are called drained below the level of the water table 1,600 feet (500 m) kūkaepele, Pele’s excrement. below the surface. The walls of the drained crater collapsed and blocked the throat (center below). Ground water seeped into the hot conduit and flashed into steam, but was blocked from Magma gathers in a reservoir less than escaping by the rockfall. 1 mile (1.5 km) beneath your feet, trapped, for now, beneath the weight of the overlying mountain. Sulfurous gases escape from the boiling stew and rise to the surface. Along with the white minerals that precipitate at steam cracks, yellow sulfur is deposited at solfataras (sulfur vents.) The ground around the solfatara might be no more than a thin crust that covers deep pockets of scalding, toxic fumes. For
NPS/DAVE BOYLE your safety, do not approach solfataras. awaiian Volcano Observatory USGS/H awaiian Volcano Kapohāikahiola, Pele’s brother— When enough pressure built up, steam blasted away the rocks a force of volcanic explosions— with great force. The collapsing walls continued to block 18 manifests himself about every 100 the conduit and the violent explosions repeated every few years and violently reshapes the land. hours. Mud and hot rocks were hurled out of the crater in all directions. Eight-ton (7,000 kg) boulders (below) were ejected Hundreds of massive steam explosions as far as 2/3 of a mile (1 km) away. By the time the explosions were blasted from Halemaʻumaʻu had quieted, the ground here was buried in ash and strewn for 18 days in May 1924. Cauliflower with rocks clouds of ash roiled more than 2 and boulders. miles (3 km) into the air. Twenty miles Halemaʻumaʻu (30 km) down-wind, the ash clouds had collapsed to turned day into night in the town of a depth of 1,075 Pāhala. Unfortunately, one visitor died feet (328 m), and from his injuries after he ventured the crater had too close and was burned by a rain of become more than scalding mud and falling rocks. twice as wide. Halema‘uma‘uAREA Trail Guide CLOSED AREA CLOSEDHalema‘uma‘u Trail Guide Pele may appear as a woman Many people of Hawai‘i know this all afire or as pure flame. Her crater as sacred home of Pele, Conclusion sacred name is Kaʻula o Keahi, 19 Kawahineokalua, the woman of the pit. the redness of the fire.
This photograph, Pele is known by as many names as there are adjectives to taken just after the Only the describe her eruptions. Likewise, many names are used for her top 280 feet 1924 eruption, shows a (55 m) are crater home. Chants of long ago often pronounced Halemaumau cavernous pit excavated still exposed. without the ʻokina (ʻ). This translates to house of eternal fire. by the explosions. Since Add the glottal stops, and Halemaʻumaʻu translates to house of then, eruptions within the the ʻamaʻu fern; a name that harkens back to a time following a crater have been sporadic, The lower battle at the crater between Pele and Kamapuaʻa. Both names 1,075 feet but in the following 75 (328 m) have have historic ties; both are correct. years, lava has refilled been filled nearly 3/4 of the pit. by numerous eruptions. Follow the soaring flight patterns of koaʻe kea, white-tailed The crater floor reached tropicbirds. These solitary “crater birds”
its highest level during USGS/O.H. EMERSON, 1924 nest in niches in the crater walls. They the 1967–1968 eruption (photo below). Following an eruption feed about 10 miles (16 k) offshore, in 1971, the crater’s floor collapsed and dropped 150 feet (45 eating squid, shrimp, and small fish. NPS/DAVE BOYLE m). The slump exposed a light mineral crust on the lower crater walls that was Traditional Hawaiian links to the deposited by the land are strong and enduring. In old lava lake in extending their aloha (love and 1968. Look for affection), Hawaiians hope that the high lava mark we might find common ground separating the and understand why so many dark upper cliffs people consider Kīlauea a source from the lighter of life and inspiration. Enjoy the
USGS/DICK FISKE walls below. quietness and elemental beauty Today, the crater floor is largely covered by lava from 1974. The of this scared land, and as you last summit eruption here was in 1982. Activity changed in 1983, contemplate this ever-changing when Pele traveled 12 miles (19.5 km) downslope and began the landscape, seek your own longest flank eruption in modern times. Many wait expectantly personal connections to
for Pele’s next manifestation here at her home in Halema‘uma‘u. USGS/HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Halema‘uma‘u and Kīlauea. Halema‘uma‘u CTrailredits Guide and References
Art courtesy of: Dietrich Varez and the Kane Trust Eruption photographs courtesy of: USGS, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Cover photograph by: Amos Meyers Chants and stories from: Pele and Hiʻiaka, a Myth from Hawaiʻi by Nathaniel B. Emerson Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes by William D. Westervelt Goddess of Hawaiʻi’s Volcanoes by Herb Kawainui Kane u Trail Guide Halema‘uma‘ u Trail Hawaiian proverbs from: ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau, Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Pukui
For more information
To learn more about Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, visit our web site: www.nps.gov/havo.
To read more about Kīlauea Volcano and other historical eruptions, go to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory web site: hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
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Written by Jay Robinson Edited by Jane Takahashi, USGS Produced by the Interpretive Planning and Media Development Branch Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park 12/16