Tag: volcano

Crunchy

If I were to use one word to decribe a recent visit to the park it would be…

Crunchy.

Tephra from recent eruptions in the lawn at Kilauea Military Camp
Tephra from recent eruptions in the lawn at Kilauea Military Camp

The year and a half long series of eruptive episodes has been beautiful and exciting. Tall lava fountains every couple weeks that put the lava in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, drawing huge crowds and providing a spectacle for both tourists and us island dwellers alike.

A combination of several high lava fountains and our usual winter Kona storms has resulted in episodes of tephra falling across the main sections of the park, closing both the park and the Mamalahoa highway.

The southerly winds brought about by Kona low pressure systems has sent the tephra northeast instead of the usual southwest. Instead of settling in the desolate and uninhabited Kaʻu Desert, tephra has instead fallen heavily across the park entrance area and highway, the visitor center, and the main caldera viewpoints. Tephra has reached beyond the part to impact Volcano Village, and even reached as far as Hilo.

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Episode 45

Time for another volcano run.

The tall lava fountian of episode 45 in Kilauea Caldera as photographed from the Keanakako'i Overlook, on the morning of April 23 , 2026
The tall lava fountian of episode 45 in Kilauea Caldera as photographed from the Keanakakoʻi Overlook, on the morning of April 23, 2026

I had skipped or even aborted going to several recent episodes as conditions looked bad. When Episode 42 looked imminent, I was packed and ready to go. Then I looked at the winds… From the south. I aborted before ever leaving the house. A good decision, it rained rock in the main section of the park and on the viewpoints, thus the park and the highway were quickly closed.

Episode 43 occurred in heavy rain, while episode 44 was a repeat of 42 with tephra blowing to the northeast, prompting the park and highway to be closed again. Based on the chatter, I think most of the volcano junkies on-island were feeling a bit of frustration.

With another eruptive episode looking likely, I put my boss on notice that I might just collect that day off I was owed. Waking to a 2 am alarm, I rolled over, grabbed the iPad and checked the USGS webcams… We have a go!!

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A Day Without Lava

Reading the data it really looked like Saturday would be the day, the USGS forecast was for Saturday, the online chatter agreed… Saturday.

The volcano does what the volcano does… The eruption started Sunday morning.

This time I had followed up on my bet, spending all day Saturday in the park. Arriving well before sunrise, not leaving until well after dark… missing the eruption, but still enjoying the day.

A rainbow over Kilauea Caldera seen from Steaming Bluff

I spent some time on the north rim, the stars bright, Jupiter and Venus bright, it was going to be a lovely day.

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Kalamalu

When standing atop Puʻuwaʻawaʻa the scenery is breathtaking. Five massive vocanoes dominate the skyline… Haleakalā, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and the looming Hualālai immediately to the south. It is easy to overlook the smaller, overshadowed features of the landscape. Sitting for a while resting, rehydrating, and enjoying the view atop the grassy puʻu one begins to notice more details in the landscape.

An ʻōhiʻa lehua bloom in the forest above Puʻuwaʻawaʻa
An ʻōhiʻa lehua bloom in the forest above Puʻuwaʻawaʻa

A couple miles southeast of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa are a line of more modest volcanic features, dwarfed by the enourmous mauna but still significant, monuments of rock that tower over the surrounding ʻōhiʻa forest. These old vents are clearly arranged along a rift of some sort in a neat line trending north to south with the southern end pointing directly at the peak of Hualālai.

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Tephra

While enjoying and photographing episode 15 of the current eruption we got dumped on.

Pele's hair and reticulite from the episode 15 lava fountains
Pele’s hair and from the episode 15 lava fountains under the microscope

It was while photographing the spectacular fountains of episode 15 that bits of tephra began drifiting down on the crowded viewpoints along the crater rim. There was little wind and the enormous volcanic plume drifted over the eastern end of the caldera where thousands of people had come to view the eruption.

As I stood by the tripod I noted little clumps of Pele’s hair lazily drifiting down. Looking to see where it landed I note minute black gritty granules atop the camera and tripod. Oh lovely!

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Episode 15

Reading the tiltmeter data it was clear that the pressure was building again, an eruption appearing likely in the next day or two. The last episodes have produced ever higher lava fountains, I expect episode 15 to go even higher and I truly wish to see it when it happens.

Right on schedule the first lava appeared, a little rivulet of lava overflowing the north vent onto the crater floor. If the pattern repeated this would be followed by high lava fountains in the next ten hours or so. Episode 15 was on.

Strong glow from the eruption vents illuminate the heavy volcanic plume above between surges
Strong glow from the eruption vents illuminate the heavy volcanic plume above between surges

Tomorrow it would be, and as tomorrow was also a holiday for me, Prince Kūhiō Day, I would be free to make another volcano run!!

We are a go.

The same plan… a 2am alarm, hit the road, 4am in the park, hike to the Keanakāko’i viewpoint.

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