Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Volcano Eruption Update

Pele puts on dramatic show for visitors

Two years after Halemaumau crater at the summit of Kilauea volcano suddenly rumbled and began shooting steam into the air, the exciting volcanic activity there continues to evolve. Often, night-time visitors to the caldera overlook at Thomas A. Jaggar Museum, see the ever-changing glow pulsing from the vent in the crater wall. Day and night, the thick steam plume swirls and sways, rising into the sky in nature’s own hula.

The dramatic plume of steam and gas has been gushing from a vent in the crater wall since March 11th, 2008, representing the first eruption in Halemaumau since 1982. In its early stages, there were three small explosions – the first ones at the summit since 1924 – and the plume changed for a while from fluffy white to dusky brown, indicating that ash had sifted into the plume. Then it returned to a snowy white, rising up to a mile above the crater.

But beginning in early September ’08, there were more small explosions and increased tremors, and the vent grew from about 90 feet across to twice that size, and by May 2009, three times that size, spreading onto the crater floor. By March 2010, it was about 450 feet across.

As the levels of ash in the plume have changed, its color has shifted a number of times from cottony white to various shades of grey, brown and even pink, as the billowing steam is painted by the sun, clouds and moon. One night in early September, lucky visitors saw blue flames shooting from the vent.

The roiling subterranean lava pool has been rising and falling anywhere from 100 to 400 yards beneath the crater floor. No molten lava has spilled onto the crater floor — yet.

When will that happen? Maybe today, maybe never, say scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Meanwhile, moments of heightened drama punctuate the unpredictable scene.

On Nov. 21st 2009, a section of wall at the vent collapsed into the pool, throwing a thick brown cloud of ash into the sky. The plume soon returned to a billowy white, and after dark, it was lit with the orange heart-beat glow from the molten lava below.

Night-time visitors (the park is open around the clock) are delighted whenever the glow intensifies. Lately, the vent has been glowing like a magic cauldron almost every night, but small seismic events are common, and at any given moment they may cause another rockfall or shift in the plumbing to temporarily smother the glow.

On any given night, there may be a bright pulsing glow, a faint flickering one, or none at all — and the next second, anything! Meanwhile, daylight viewing of the steam plume rising from the vent continues to be spectacular.

Intrepid HVO geologists who regularly venture to the crater rim just above the vent, have found lava rocks thrown onto the crater floor and over the top of the rim. The first March explosions damaged the crater rim viewing platform, but that area had already been closed to visitors because of this danger, and the plume’s heavy content of sulfur dioxide.

At the crater’s lip just above the vent, geologists have also found “Pele’s hair” (thin strands of solidified lava), and “Pele’s tears” (droplets of lava rock) above the crater rim. These artifacts of the eruption indicate that molten lava has been ejected from the vent.

Excellent viewing of the dramatic plume at the summit is still possible most days from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The small museum has informative volcanology exhibits and an excellent, recently expanded bookstore with DVDs, posters, maps, cards, magnets, t-shirts and more — all of it contributing to our understanding of volcanoes, this extraordinary national park and Hawaii’s natural and cultural history.

Visitors can also still get stunning views of the heavy plume of steam and gas from the crater-rim trail near the park visitors center.

The beautiful plume is also a source of sulfur dioxide. Prolonged exposure to high levels of SO2 can be dangerous, especially to anyone with respiratory conditions. This is why the downwind stretch of Crater Rim Drive is closed off for now. But as long as the customary tradewinds are blowing, visitors are safe. If conditions change, park rangers will alert visitors.

The tradewinds normally carry the steam and gas down along the Kona Coast. The good news is that, though the air may look hazy in Kona, there is little SO2 left in it by then. (For a brochure from the state Dept. of Health explaining health issues related to SO2, volcanic ash and “vog,” see below.)

So Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is very much open for exploring and amazing views of volcanic activity. For the very latest eruption viewing and health info, see the resources below.

Coastal viewing

Meanwhile, 25 miles down on the coast, is the Kalapana lava viewing area where visitors can often see molten lava burst into the sea, sending up sprays of fiery lava and huge billowy clouds of steam.

This is a great vantage point from which to witness the mesmerizing movement of lava as it makes its way down-slope from Kilauea volcano to the sea. Here, depending upon conditions, visitors can often see distant up-slope outbreaks of molten lava that stretch for miles in glowing rivulets until they end in dramatic explosions as 1,200-degree liquid rock meets the ocean.

The Kalapana viewing site, located at the end of Highway 130 in the Puna District, has been attracting thousands of visitors every week when lava is flowing all the way to the sea. Sometimes the flows are hundreds of yards away, sometimes much closer. Starting in late April, the flows spread so close to the viewing area and a new trail that had just been opened that the trail had to be rerouted and the viewing area moved back. But visitors were still able to get within 50 yards of the oozing, molten lava.

The viewing area is open daily from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the last car permitted into the parking area at 8 p.m. The afternoon opening gives volcano scientists ample time to assess the ever-changing lava activity and report to Hawaii County Civil Defense.

“I was completely hypnotized by the beauty and power of the molten lava,” said Rebecca Sawyer, a resident of Waikoloa who drove with her family more than three hours one Saturday to witness the natural phenomenon. “It’s something that will be seared into my memory forever,” she said.

Visitors to the viewing area are advised to carry at least one quart or liter of water each; wear sturdy, closed-toe boots or shoes with socks; carry at least one flashlight per person; wear long pants, a sun hat and plenty of sunscreen; and bring rain gear. There is no cell phone coverage in the viewing area.

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi reminds visitors that the viewing area passes by private homes and properties, and so to proceed with respect and not leave trash behind. Portable restrooms are set up for public use.

Visitors on foot must obey all warning signs and are required to stay within permitted areas for safety purposes. A newly formed black sand beach and land area are extremely unstable, and could collapse into the ocean at any time. There is also the threat of acidic “laze,” a potentially hazardous gas that may be created when the super-hot lava enters the sea.

When the lava is flowing into the sea, it may also viewed from the ocean via passenger craft. Capt. Shane Turpin, owner of Lava Ocean Adventures, reported a huge demand for his boat tours that depart East Hawaii to take passengers to watch the lava pour into the sea.

Air tours are another popular way to view the active flow. “We’ve had a lot of incredible flight-seeing,” said Jeanne Alford, Big Island operations manager for Sunshine Helicopters. “But it can change as quickly as we are speaking. We never know what we’re going to see on each trip, the lava can be so unpredictable. But I can say we’re seeing lava activity in some areas now that we haven’t seen in many years.

And there’s still the activity up at Halemaumau, the summit crater of Kilauea. There’s no fresh lava, and a full-blown summit eruption is unlikely at the moment, but super-heated steam and gases (mostly sulfur dioxide) are spewing from the crater, sometimes causing incandescent glowing visible at night. Visitors are gathering at Jaggar overlook and along the wall by Volcano House hotel to see the dramatic scene. However, the elevated levels of sulfur dioxide have led rangers to close part of the park downwind of the vent.

“It’s all about the weather,” says Jim Gale, the park’s Chief of Interpretation. “You want to stay upwind.” Or if you drive into the “vog,” says Gale, “roll up your windows and turn on the air conditioner until you get through to clear air.”

Volcanic activity is subject to change and may not be exactly what is pictured.

back to top