Tag: Mauna Ulu

Mauna Ulu first erupted in May 1969 and would continue for the next five years. In the course of those eruptions lava would occasionally fountain over 1,700ft high while flooding much of the surrounding area, eventually constructing a lava shield nearly 400ft above the original ground level.

In many ways the Mauna Ulu eruption was very similar to the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruptions that would start a decade later and continue for well over three decades. It is the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruptions that formed my first memories of Kilauea with television news of homes burning in the Royal Gardens subdivision and visits to the ocean entries at Kalapana. While Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō remains somewhat remote, Mauna Ulu is far more accessible.

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