aar - Some information about the steam vents. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:12:32 PM Steam just comes up out of the ground. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:12:17 PM aac - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:11:52 PM aay - aaz - A very steamy field. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:19:02 PM aba - aaw - abg - abc - Kilauea caldera - Wed 25 Aug 2004 12:32:11 PM The entire large lava field in this picture is the Kilauea Caldera. The crater within the crater is Halemau'uma'u Crater. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 12:32:29 PM According to tradition, the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire, Pele, lives within Halema'uma'u Crater. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:34:04 PM A little closer still ... - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:36:25 PM It's a long way down there. You can hike across it if you have a lot of time and are impervious to heat. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 02:10:58 PM aau - aas - aat - It's hard to tell from the picture, but it was VERY windy near the crater! - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:17:41 PM Michele standing on some lava rock, just off the road (Crater Rim Drive). - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:53:37 PM abe - abi - abq - The area on the southwest edge of Crater Rim Drive inside the park is called the Southwest Rift Zone. The rift itself is easy to see, running right through the middle of the lava field. - Joel next to the Southewest Rift. - Lava last flowed through the Southwest Rift Zone in 1971. - aak - Wed 25 Aug 2004 01:54:46 PM abt - abu - abv - aby - I think these flowers at the edge of the Halema'uma'u Crater were left by Native Hawaiians, practicing their ancient traditions. - acc - ach - acv - That isn't a lake! That's Kilauea Iki Crater, a lava lake created by a lava flow in 1959. - ack - acr - Hikers on the floor of Kilauea Iki Crater. I can't imagine how hot it must have been down there. - acx - The Nene is a native Hawaiian goose. Nene are endemic to Hawaii (found no place else on earth), and are an endangered species. - The summit of Mauna Loa (20 miles in the distance) reaches 13,677 feet above sea level, but over 31,000 feet above its base on the ocean floor. It has a volume of 10,000 cubic MILES, and is the largest mountain on earth, measured from its base on the oce - acn - The lava field reaches all the way to the ocean at the end of Chain of Craters Road. - Sunset at the end of Chain of Craters Road. - Thurston Lava Tube, at the Eastern Edge of the park, was created by a lava flow over 500 years ago. Volcanoes have been active here for a long, long time. - acy - Entrance to the lava tube. - Inside the lava tube. - Joel stande at the lava tube exit. - The rain forest around the lava tube is unique in that it is free of destructive feral pigs and most non-native plants. It is a rare example of a native Hawaiian rain forest. - There are two types of Hawaiian lava, pahoehoe and 'a'a. This is pahoehoe lava, smooth and pillowy in appearance. When flowing, it is hotter hotter and contains more gas than a'a lava. - Another up-close view of pahoehoe lava. - This jagged, rocky lava is 'a'a lava. - adc - add - adh - adg - adf - This is why we came to the Big Island of Hawaii: to see red lava! At the time we visited, red lava was visible after dusk at the end of Chain of Craters Road. Several weeks before, the lava was flowing dramatically into the ocean. - adr - adv - ads - Lava glowing on the hillside after dark. - Wed 25 Aug 2004 07:12:58 PM
