Hawai`i Volcano activity displays in so many ways!

Just recently we went to Hawai`i Island and to my favorite place Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park; I love to stay right there in Volcano (there actually is a town called that!) or preferably at Kilauea Military Camp (if you have military ID or connections). From the Military Camp you can walk (for good invigorating hikes) to most of the best sites.

I love Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park for many reasons but the predominant reason is to see what our active volcano is doing now! The photos below highlight the activity currently. It is especially beautiful to go at night. The colors and the sounds are so exciting to witness. Although, when the volcano is more active, in a very accessible location, the crowds and their noise can lessen the mood of the experience.

Halema`uma`u crater / from Jaggar Museum overlook / February 2016 

Halema`uma`u crater at night / from Jaggar Museum overlook / February 2016 

Halema`uma`u crater at night / from Jaggar Museum overlook / February 2016 

Halema`uma`u crater in it's own plume shadow / from Jaggar Museum overlook / February 2016 

Over the years of living in Hawaii, I have been privileged to see some amazing sites provided by the volcano which has been actively erupting since 1983. Kilauea Volcano information  I have stood next to flowing lava on a road, have seen glowing lava flowing down the side of a mountain, was so close to flowing lava you could feel the heat, and have seen lava flowing into the ocean! My experiences are just yet more support for a local phrase - “lucky you live Hawai`i!”

Halema`uma`u crater / from Jaggar Museum overlook / April 2015

Halema`uma`u crater at night / from Jaggar Museum overlook / April 2015

I also went less than a year ago and was fortunate enough to be there when the rising smoke plume that started in 2008 became visible lava eruptions. History of Kilauea summit eruption (pdf)  I witnessed the bubbling and spurting of the steaming lava lake. The erupting lava looked so small but if you look at the size measurements photo below the lava was actually shooting up very high. 



Comparing the April photos with the current photos shows one of the sequential changes of volcanic activity - the lava lake alternately sinks and rises and the crater sides collapse.

Jagger Museum display on scale / Jaggar Museum / February 2016 

Reviewing the information about the spectacular Kilauea Iki Crater eruption , I think that someday Halema`uma`u crater may provide an even more amazing eruption! [You can hike in Kilauea Iki Crater and having done that many times, it is amazing to see how that massive cinder cone once formed!]

Although no matter how exciting the prospect is, a large Halema`uma`u crater eruption would be much more dangerous and destructive to surrounding structures like the historical Volcano House and the Jaggar Museum (and Hawaii Volcano Observatory) itself!

If you have a chance to go to Hawai`i Island make sure you spend one or two days at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, there is actually much more to see than the erupting Kilauea volcano. View future blogs for other joys of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park! Meanwhile keep “watching out for nature.”