HALEMA'UMA'U TRAIL GUIDE VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

THE TRAIL—3.2 mi/5.15 km in size, as well as in distance from During the next few hours, you will one another. Because of the move­ pass through a tree-fern forest and ment of the Plate, the islands be­ into the heart of one of the world's come increasingly older as we most active volcanoes. Your walk travel northwest along the Hawaiian may begin either on the crater side Archipelago. The island of Hawaii, of the Volcano House Hotel, or at which is currently over the hot spot, Halema'uma'u. A variety of op­ is less than a million years old and tional, longer routes may be added. still growing, while Kaua'i is approx­ You can obtain a map showing imately 6 million years old. Kure, an Kilauea summit hiking trails at the atoll 1500 miles to the northwest of Visitor Center. This guide has been Hawaii Island, is the last outpost of written with the starting point at Vol­ the Hawaiian Chain, and is about 35 cano House. It will serve as a guide million years old. to some of the geology, ethno- botany, and cultural history of the The island of Hawaii is the largest of area. To find the plants that are the islands in the main group, over listed, look for the identification twice as large as all the rest of the signs along the trail. When starting Hawaiian Islands put together. It is at Halema'uma'u simply reverse the composed of five separate vol­ sequence in the booklet. canoes: , , Hua- lalai, , and Kilauea. VOLCANOES OF HAWAI'I Three of them, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, Many millions of years ago, a hot and Kilauea are considered active. spot developed in the mantle of the Kilauea is the youngest and thus the earth which underlies the crust. Be­ most active. As eruptions of the vol­ cause magma is more buoyant than canoes occur, the mountains are solid rock, the magma rose through enlarged and reshaped, creating a fissures, and surfaced on the ocean landscape that is still-changing. floor as . As repeated eruptions continued, a massive submarine THE ARRIVAL OF LIFE volcano was built and eventually Winds, ocean currents and birds rose above the surface of the sea. carried life to tnese islands. Where Thus the Hawaiian Islands were barren flows once existed, forests born. The Pacific Plate, according now grow. Over many millenia, the to the theory of plate tectonics, is plants and other forms of life that moving in a northwestward direc­ made their way here (birds, insects, tion a few inches per year, carrying spiders, snails) became uniquely the islands along with it. The more or adapted to their new volcanic less stationary hot spot is the site of home. It has been estimated that a fitful activity, and so the islands vary successful immigrant became es- 1 tablished here only once every Kilauea, as the lands of Puna and 30,000 to 50,000 years. The native Ka'u were forested and rivers flora and fauna of Hawaii is our flowed through them. The time of most valuable asset, never to be quiet eruptions did not last for long. replaced once it is destroyed. On , a daughter of Sky and Earth, an island like Hawaii, where erup­ came to Hawaii from her distant tions continue to dramatically homeland in Kahiki. She first landed change the landscape, older flows on . a small island in the north and forests are buried and reburied of the group. She found it unsuitable by lava flows and, occasionally, by for her family and fires, so she explosive debris. In 1790, a series of moved southward. Each of the fol­ explosive eruptions at the summit of lowing islands were unsuitable, but Kilauea devastated the entire then Pele reached Hawaii Island. region surrounding the caldera. The She landed at Keahlalaka in the forest you see growing so luxuri­ district of Puna. Parts of the east rift antly around you has grown back zone of Kilauea are said to have since that time. been formed as she moved along the land towards the summit of THE KILAUEA CALDERA Kilauea. Here she was pleased and The summit of Kilauea Volcano is prepared a home for herself and her crowned by a caldera. A caldera is family. The following lines of an an­ formed when the magma reservoir cient chant, relate the activity of inside the mountain shrinks in size, Pele at Kilauea: leaving the surface of the ground unsupported. The top of the moun­ WELA, A NOPU KE AHI O KA LUA. tain then caves in. leaving a basin Al KAMUMU. NAKEKE KA PAHOE- shaped depression at the summit. HOE; WELA. A ILUNA O HALE- The caldera may. during the course MA'UMA'U: MALU KA PALI O of hundreds of years, fill up. over­ KAAUEA. flow, and then collapse again, as FIRES THAT BOIL FROM THE the magma reservoir goes through DEPTHS OF THE PIT. cycles of swelling and shrinking. SHAKING THE STONE-PLATES Kilauea Caldera is about 3 miles TILL THEY RATTLE; across and 400 feet deep. ITS FURNACE-HOT IN THAT HOUSE-OF-FERN: CULTURAL HISTORY BUT THERE'S SHELTER AT One Hawaiian tradition tells us that KAAUEA. the islands were born as children to various creative forces of nature. Aila'au eventually fled in fear of the Each island was inhabited by var­ powers of Pele. and she settled into ious spirits which took their form as her new home. The surrounding parts of nature. When the first lands changed as Pele moved her people arrived here, they were molten body. The people of Hawaii aware of the presence of a deity that learned to fear and respect the lived at Kilauea. The god was called woman god. She was called ka Aila'au (forest eater). His powers wahine 'ai honua. the woman who are said to have been limited to devours earth. 2 these plants with highly fragrant flowers have escaped cultivation and are a major concern. The ag­ gressive, shade tolerant gingers crowd out specialized native spe­ cies, and disrupt native ecosys­ tems. KUKAENENE (Coprosma erno- deoides). A native relative of coffee, kukaenene is a small, woody, trail­ ing shrub. The shiny black fruits were used to make a dye for kapa (bark cloth), and are a favorite food of the nene, our native goose. Al­

ALONG THE TRAIL 'OHI'A LEHUA (Metrosideros poly- morpha). 'Ohi'a is the most common and widespread of the Park's native trees. A member of the myrtle fam­ ily, flower colors range from a dark red to a light yellow. The apapane, a red native bird, can often be seen feeding on the nectar of the blos­ soms. The hard wood of the 'ohi'a was used for temple images and poles for temple structures. The 'ohi'a is also believed to be the em­ bodiment of Laka, the goddess of the hula. The nodding of the branches and the adornment of lehua flowers served as teachers to though they are not poisonous, they the dancers who mimicked the are rarely eaten by man. movements of nature. HAPU'U (Cibotium sp.). Hawaii has KAHILI GINGER (Hedychium gar- 3 species of tree ferns, all of which dnenanum) and YELLOW GINGER are native. They grow up to 40 feet (H. flavescens). Coming from the in height in shady, wet forests. One Himalayas and India respectively, species, hapu'u pulu, has a silky 3 native forests may unintentionally lead to the introduction of weeds. Weed seeds, carried on the soles of shoes or stuck to clothing, can be dispersed through the native forest by gatherers or hikers. It is a good idea to scrub the soles of your shoes and pick any "stickers" off your clothes before hiking in any relatively untouched area. ILIAHI (Santalum sp.). The sandal­ wood has pale yellowish leaves, which serve as an indication that the tree is a partial parasite. Its roots entwine with those of neighboring plants and obtain some nourish­ ment from them. The flowers are tiny

golden fiber growing at the bases of the fronds. Called pulu. the fiber was exported during the late 1800's for pillow and mattress stuffing. An­ other species, hapu'u 'i'i. has stiff blackish hairs at the bases of the fronds. The tree ferns contain a starchy core which is eaten by the many feral pigs inhabiting the Park. A trough is left where rainwater may collect and provide a breeding place for mosquitoes. The mos­ quitoes can transmit avian malaria, one cause of the decline and ex­ tinction of the native birds of Hawai'i. WAWAE'IOLE (Lycopodium cer- nuum). The Hawaiian name for this clubmoss means "rat's foot." Like the moa (Psilotum sp.), it is a primi­ tive plant which reproduces through spores. The wawae'iole is often used in flower arrangements and lei, though the picking of it in 4 four-parted stars which grow in clusters. Sandalwood was a major export during the early 1800's. Life was disrupted here as a large part of the population went to the moun­ tains in search of the trees which were cut and then carried to the shore to be shipped to China. Workers, seeing their families and lands neglected and wanting to end the hard labor of harvesting and transporting the wood, took to cut­ ting and pulling up even seedlings of the plants. Though not common, sandalwood has made a come­ back, and can be found at many areas throughout the State. the fires of Pele. Halema'uma'u means "house surrounded by the 'AKIA (Wikstromeia sp.). These 'ama'u." shrubs or small trees have a smooth PUKIAWE (Styphelia tameiameiae). brownish grey bark marked by leaf Pukiawe is a very adaptable shrub, scars. The fruits are a bright orange growing from nearly sea level up­ and they are sometimes confused wards to 10.000 feet. Covered with with the 'ohelo. The leaves of the many tiny greyish leaves, it bears 'akia have smooth edges, and the small round dry fruits in clusters that fruits contain one or two large range in color from white to bur­ seeds, while the 'ohelo has many gundy. The fruits and young silvery tiny seeds and its leaves have shoots of the plant are used in lei. toothed edges. The bark of the 'akia The smoke from a fire made of the provided a fiber which was used to wood purified chiefs so that they'd make cordage, and at least one be able to mingle with the "common species contains a poison which people" without harm to their life was used to stun fish in tide pools so force or mana. they could be easily gathered. ULUHE (Dicranoptens linearis). A AMA'U (Sadlena cyatheoides). creeping fern with wiry stems that This fern looks much like the hapu'u, can form dense thickets, uluhe can though the fronds are simple and be recognized by its fronds which unbranched. Young fronds are repeatedly branch by twos. Be­ often tinged with red or pink as they cause of its growth habit, uluhe is a unfurl. The 'ama'u also has a star­ healer of scars left on the landscape chy core and the plant may grow to by landslides or by trees falling in 10 feet in height. The crater Hale- the forest. As larger plants return, ma'uma'u is said to have gotten its the uluhe is shaded out. The dense name from a legendary event in growth of the uluhe often conceals which a deity took the 'ama'u fern as cracks in the ground—a very good a body form to protect himself from reason for staying on the trail! 5 6 7 PA'INIU (Astelia menziesiana). A 'OHELO (Vaccinium sp.). There are native lily whose leaves are cov­ several different varieties of 'ohelo ered with silver hairs and bears found here at Kilauea. The most orange fruits, pa'iniu prefers to grow common is a small bush with ser­ in shady wet forests, usually as an rated leaves that bears clusters of epiphyte on large trees. Epiphytes juicy berries ranging in color from use trees for support, obtaining their nourishment from bits of de­ cayed matter caught in the bark, as well as from rain and the air. Pa'iniu is common at certain locations around Kilauea. and lei made of the silvery leaves were taken home by visitors as a sign that they had been to the volcano. AALI'I (Dodonaea sp.). A'ali'i can grow either as a shrub or as a small tree up to 30' tall. Its most notice­ able feature is its papery winged pods which grow in clusters and redden as they ripen. The pods were used in lei, and also as a red dye. It is abundant in the drier areas of Puna and Ka'u.

yellow to red. The 'ohelo is the em­ bodiment of Hi'iaka, one of the sis­ ters of Pele. Its fruits are considered sacred to Pele. and even today there are those who will not eat the fruit or even pass thru the Kilauea area without making an offering of 'ohelo to Pele. 8 In 1824. the high Chiefess Kapi'olani much deeper, but during the last came to Kilauea with a group of few hundred years has been nearly Hawaiian and missionary compan­ filled by eruptions at Halema'uma'u ions. She was a devout Christian as well as from fissures on the cal­ convert and wanted to break the dera floor. The caldera is bounded power that Pele had over the Hawai­ by arc-shaped faults formed during ian peopie. Standing near a lake of different episodes of collapse of the molten lava. Kapi'olani called out to summit. The path to the floor from Pele saying that the people of the Volcano House goes through an Hawaii would no longer worship her area where blocks did not quite and the other ancient gods. make it to the main floor of the cal­ Kapi'olani ate 'ohelo berries, sang dera. The terraces that are found at Christian hymns, and claimed that locations around the summit are the true God would care for herself also places where large fault blocks and her people. The chiefess and partially fell into the pit. those who had gathered with her A magnitude 6.7 earthquake in were not swallowed up by the earth, November 1983 caused numerous and so the Hawaiians believed that rockfalls on the caldera walls, de­ it was a sign that Pele had acknowl­ stroyed sections of trail and se­ edged the power of a greater God. verely damaged roads in the Park. In this way the 'ohelo and Kapi'olani Evidence of the destruction can be helped the missionaries convert seen along the path to the caldera people in Hawaii to the Christian floor. faith, though even today there are those who are devout believers in Western or Eastern religions who also make pilgrimages to Kilauea to give offerings to Pele.

KLJPAOA (Dubautia sp. or Railliar- dia sp.). Kupaoa. a shrub, is a com­ posite and is related to the sil- versword. The flowers may either be white or yellow and have a pleasing fragrance. Its leaves are stiff, pointed and a shiny bright green. Its name implies a lasting fragrance, and parts of the plant were used in the old days to scent kapa (bark cloth).

THE CALDERA FLOOR Once on the caldera floor, you are nearly 500' below the clifftop of Ka'auea, and inside the crater of one of the world's most active vol­ canoes. The caldera was once 9 PAHOEHOE AND AA LAVA other species, are the beginning of During eruptions, lava may assume future forests. If no new lava flows two different physical forms, with cover the area, generations of gradations in between. The most plants will grow. die. and grow common type on the caldera floor is again, pahoehoe. which has a smooth, billowy, or ropy surface. The prod­ SPATTER RAMPARTS uct of hot. gassy eruptions, pahoe­ The spatter ramparts on the floor of hoe is very fluid as it flows, A'a. the the central caldera were built by a other type of lava, is either formed series of eruptions. At approxi­ during cooler eruptions, or, more mately 8:30 a.m. on April 30. 1982, often, as a pahoehoe flow moves geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano over the ground, it cools very Observatory noted an increase in slightly, and loses gas along the the level of seismic activity being way. The lava then becomes more recorded on their seismographs. sticky and viscous, it begins to The activity indicated the possibility move more slowly and the crust of an eruption at the summit of breaks up. An 'a'a flow will have a Kilauea. The trails through the cal­ clinkery surface, but a solid, dense dera. and parts of the Crater Rim interior. Road were closed. At 11:37 a.m.. only 3 hours after the initial burst of In places on the caldera floor, es­ seismic warning, a fissure opened caping gasses speed up the aging on the caldera floor in the same and breakdown of the lava flows. general area of the May 31. 1954 The reddish orange lines that bor­ eruption. Hot fluid poured out der cracks are evidence of the oxi­ of a 1 2 mile long fissure, and the dation of iron in the lava. Over mil­ volcano was in eruption. A crack lions of years, the solid, black lava also opened on the northeast wall of flows become the red soil that is Halema'uma'u and a small outbreak prominent on the older islands. Also occurred there. Lava fountains noticeable at places where gasses sometimes reached heights of 50 to are escaping are crusty white 60 feet above the vents. The erupt­ areas; deposits of salts, sulfates, ing lava added to the already exist­ and opaline. ing spatter ramparts, the low lying black "hills" along the trail. Almost 1 PIONEER PLANT LIFE million cubic meters of lava moved The caldera is a good area to see across the caldera floor. how life returns to lava flows. Seeds blown in by the wind are deposited During the early morning hours of in cracks and take root. The spores May 1, the eruption ended. More of ferns and the tiny seeds of the than 45.000 people came to Kilauea ohi'a are often the first to gain a during the 19 hours of fiery spec­ foothold in shady, damp cracks. tacle. The lava is porous and brittle, so Parts of the old Halema'uma'u to roots are able to penetrate the rock Byron Ledge trail were buried under easily. These plants, along with the April 1982 lava flow. It is par- 10 ticularly important, in the area of that of Kilauea volcano, though erup­ flow, to stay on the marked trail. The tions often occur at other places as lava was very hot and gassy, so a well. Halema'uma'u is approx­ surface that appears to be solid imately 300' deep and 3.000' may only be the surface of a lava across. tube or gas bubble. We hope that you have enjoyed this EXPLOSIVE DEBRIS walk. If you have any questions, feel free to stop by the Kilauea Visitor The ground in the caldera that is Center. The staff there will be happy covered with rock fragments and to help you. debris is pre-1924. The ejecta re­ sulted from the 1924 series of steam THE RIMS OF CRATERS ARE explosions. At that time there was a WEAK. THE WARNING SIGNS AND major collapse of the summit and FENCES HAVE BEEN ERECTED TO magma came into contact with PROTECT YOU. HERE. AND IN ALL ground water. Major explosions re­ AREAS OF HAWAII VOLCANOES sulted which continued for 2 weeks. NATIONAL PARK. PLEASE STAY An eight ton boulder was thrown out ON THE TRAILS! of Halema'uma'u and landed near revised August 1985 the road across from the parking lot. A rock fell on a photographer and seriously injured his leg. He died enroute to a hospital from loss of blood, the only known fatality of an eruption since the 1790 steam ex­ plosions killed part of an Hawaiian army in the Ka'u Desert.

HALEMA'UMA'U Traditionally. Halema'uma'u is be­ lieved to be the dwelling place of Pele and her family. The ancient people of Hawaii approached the crater with great respect. Times and traditions have changed some­ what, but it is still important for mod­ ern day visitors to approach the crater with caution. From 1823 to 1924. Halema'uma'u contained a lava lake which contin­ ually rose and fell. The 1924 series of explosions disrupted the activity there, and there hasn't been such a prolonged series of eruptions since. The crater of Halema'uma'u is con­ sidered by many to be the main vent 11 FOR MORE INFORMATION MACDONALD. G. A., Abbott, A. I, DECKER, Robert, Decker, Barbara, Peterson, F L. 1983. Volcanoes in 1980. Volcano Watching. Hawaii the Sea-The Geology of Hawaii. National Park: Hawaii Natural His­ Honolulu: University of Hawaii tory Association, 76 p. Press. 517 p. DEGENER, Otto. 1973. Plants of MACDONALD. G. A.. Hubbard. D. Hawaii National Park Illustrative of H. 1982. Volcanoes of the National Plants and Customs of the South Parks in Hawaii. Hawaii National Seas. Park: Hawaii Natural History Asso­ Ann Arbor, Michigan: Braun- ciation. 63 p. (first published in Brumfield, Inc. 316 p. (first pub­ 1951.) lished in 1930.) HANDY, E. S. C. Pukui, M. K. 1981. LAMOUREUX, C. H. 1982. Trailside The Polynesian Family System in Plants of Hawaii's National Parks. Ka-'u, Hawai'i. Rutland. Vermont: Hawaii National Park: Hawaii Charles E. Tuttle Company. 259 p. Natural History Association, 81 p. (first published in 1958.)

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