Volcano National Park~Crater Rim Drive

Volcano National Park


This is an amazing place! One day doesn’t even scratch the surface of all there is to see here. I don’t think any of us had any idea what to expect. Volcanoes have always fascinated me so a visit to the park was a “must-do.” We were not disappointed.

We started our visit at the Visitor Center where a Park ranger gave us an informative and humorous presentation. The presentations covered history, current conditions and warnings…like what to do if Kilauea’s eruption changes and you are caught near it…His answer…RUN! He told us how he had watched the red glow of the lava approach Hilo and wondered if his home would survive. He also warned us to be careful walking on the lava because it is basically glass and a fall WILL cut you. There were maps, and a gift shop and videos of past eruptions playing. We watched a movie that introduced us to the importance of Volcanoes in Hawaiian culture.

The volcanoes of the park are the home of the Goddess Pele, a part of ancient Hawaiian culture that is still worshiped by some today. But even when she is not worshiped, modern Hawaiians still treat her with healthy respect. Tradition protects the black lava of the islands as it is very bad luck to remove any rocks or sand. It belongs to the Goddess.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was created in 1916 and is the 13th U.S. National Park. It was created to protect the unique land and ecosystem of Native Hawaiian ecology. The park’s seven ecosystems range from seacoast to alpine and provide a home for some of Hawaii’s rarest inhabitants one of which is the Nene, a goose that is the state bird. It is thought that the Nene evolved from a few Canada Geese that strayed off course and found themselves in Hawaii. Here they live in scrubland and grassland instead of lakes and marshes. They walk over rough lava flows so their feet have adapted by losing much of their webbing. We watched for them in the park and near the “Nene Crossing” signs but didn’t see any.

After the presentations and some time browsing we headed out to explore the park. The roads are well paved and easy to drive with well kept parking areas. There are also numerous hiking trails that we did not have time to explore on this trip.

Our first stop was just out of the visitor center when we saw a field with steam coming out of the ground. The “ Steaming Bluffs” . This plain is a terrace between the inner and outer cliffs of Kilauea Caldera. The ground just a few feet down is so hot that trees roots can’t survive, only shallow rooted grasses. The steam is caused when ground water seeps down to the still hot rocks below the surface and evaporates and escapes as steam. Trust me when I say it is hot steam!

As we continued our drive on Crater Rim Drive we passed the Jaggar Museum & Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Visitors are welcome here but we chose to skip it for the time being. However it should be noted that this facility has made this the most studied volcanic area anywhere in the world.

Also on Crater Rim Drive is Kilauea Iki Crater. “Iki” is Hawaiian for little but this crater was anything but in my view. I guess it’s little compared to the main Caldera. Anyway, when we stand looking into the crater and we see it’s smooth, black surface, we are actually looking at a crusted-over lava lake. . If we had been there in November of 1959 instead of October 2006 we would have seen a seething, rolling lake of molten lava. On that day in 1959 cracks opened in the wall of the crater and the molten lava fountained in sometimes bringing the lava lake to depths of over 400 feet. As the surface of the lava lake rose and fell a ring was formed on the wall of the crater. Today it is visible above the crater floor and is called a “bathtub” ring. Distances are deceiving and it is hard to grasp the vast scale of Kilauea Iki…a mile long, 3000 feet across and 380 feet down to the surface of the lake. There is a trail across the crater and people walking across the crater are only the size of ants from where we were standing. In 1988, nearly 30 years after the lava lake formed, holes drilled reached still-molten lava only 230 ft below the surface!

The next stop is Nahuku (Thurston Lava Tube) . In Hawaii as the rivers of lava flow during an eruption, the surface cools and forms a crust that solidifies. However under the crust the lava continues to flow. When the eruption ends and the lava stops flowing a lava tube is left.

The dense fern-forest jungle along the path to the lava tube is typical of the high elevation rainfall vegetation at this elevation of Hawaii. As we walked through the lava tube it was impossible not to think of the red hot river of lava that coursed through this tube only a few hundred years ago.. The trail climbs out of the tube where a portion of the thin roof has collapsed and we made our way back to the parking area and the car to continue on.

We passed a sign for Devastation Trail but again felt we needed to pass on it for now. If we don’t get a chance to return this trip, we’ll add it to the growing list for a return trip. We stopped at another pit crater and as we walked to the edge a flock of brightly colored birds took off and circled the crater walls. Gorgeous! The show was short and we didn’t linger but headed on to Halema’uma’u Crater. This huge crater is the home of Pele, Goddess of Hawaiian Volcanoes. The crater was steaming when we were there and since then I’ve read that a new vent crack has opened and is being closely monitored. This crater is 3000 feet across and 280 ft deep. Each year during the Aloha Festivals a formal ceremony with traditional hula and chants to honor Pele takes place on the rim of Halema'uma'u. There were bouquets of  flowers left in offering scattered along the rim when we were there. As I said, even modern Hawaiians take Pele seriously.

We left the Goddess Pele behind and continued through the Ka’u Desert to the Southwest Rift Zone. The rift zone is a group of huge gullies and fractures. They are actually areas of weakness in the volcano’s sides and underground cracks often form along these lines which can open up at times of eruptions.

The road now climbed back out of the Caldera and led us back to the Visitor Center. As it was noontime we decided to have lunch at the Volcano House. This is a rustic lodge whose history dates back to 1846. The hotel has been rebuilt several times and kings, queens and presidents have all stayed here. Mark Twain stayed here in 1886. At that time the floor of the crater was molten lava. This caldera has not erupted since 1982 but we were still able to look down the same steep precipice and let our imaginations run wild.

We ate in the cafeteria at the same time a tour bus arrived so it was quite busy but we were able to find a place to sit and enjoy a light lunch before we headed back out to try the Chain of Craters Road in the afternoon.