Today, I woke up early to watch the sunrise from Hilo. As we were on the windward side of the island, the weather was cloudy, but thankfully, there were enough gaps in the clouds for a great view. I also took the opportunity to go snorkeling for the first time! It was an amazing experience, and I was able to see a whole array of beautiful fish. In addition to all the aquatic life, I observed an interesting geological phenomenon: ridges in the sand underwater, which I believe are caused by a combination of waves and wind “sorting” the sand into denser and less dense strips.
After a quick breakfast, we made our way to Kilauea Iki, a Kilauea crater that experienced a major eruption in 1959. As we gradually descended into the crater, we learned about the massive eruption, which was more explosive than you might typically expect from an oceanic volcano. According to the visitor’s guide, lava flew as high as 1,900 feet above its source, achieving an all-time Hawaiian record. As with many violent eruptions, the resulting debris piled around the fissure in a cinder cone, known as Pu’upua’i.
Once we reached the bottom on Kilauea Iki, we found ourselves in the middle of a wasteland. Sheets of black basalt covered the interior of the crater, broken by various cracks and the occasional plant poking up through the rock. During the 1959 eruption, this entire expanse was a lake of molten lava, as evidenced by the “bathtub ring” around the edge, which shows how high the “lake” reached in 1959. Professor Knapp described the way in which lava lakes act as an accurate representation of plate tectonics; as the lava at the top of the lake cools and hardens into solid sheets, the hot lava beneath shifts the basalt in the same way that the mantle moves the Earth’s crust.
After a steep hike out of the crater, we walked a short distance to the Thurston Lava Tube, a geological phenomenon that looks like a simple tube of rock but actually has a fascinating backstory. Lava tubes like the Thurston form when the outside of a mass of lava begins to harden. Hot, liquid lava continues to flow through the outer shell, which begins to form a tube-like structure around the molten rock. Eventually, all the lava flows out of the tube, leaving behind a cave like the Thurston. The Thurston Lava Tube was surprisingly short and well lit; I didn’t even need a headlamp, which was surprising.
Next, we drove to the Volcano House, a lodge that looks out over the summit caldera of Mount Kilauea. A caldera is a particularly large crater that forms when the summit of a volcano collapses in on itself. In the midst of Kilauea’s summit is Halema’uma’u, a pit crater that some Hawaiians believe is the home of the volcano goddess Pele. In 2018, Halema’uma’u experienced a massive eruption that broadened and deepened it to multiple times its original size. The newly expanded crater has been the sight of multiple interesting features in recent years, including an unexpected accumulation of noxious water in 2019 and a number of lava lakes. When we visited, however, the crater was quiet, and all we saw was a little bit of smoke.
After looking into the caldera, we made a quick visit to the Sulfur Banks. The Sulfur Banks consist of a series of fissures in the ground near Kilauea’s summit. When rain falls into the gaps, it reacts with the sulfur in magma deep beneath the Earth to produce jets of steam. These fractures formed centuries ago, when the volcanoes summit first collapsed to form its caldera. Now, the Sulfur Banks are a source of warm air on a cold and rainy day, as I discovered during my visit. However, there are a number of hazards associated with the site. On one hand, the sulfurous gases of the Banks can obstruct breathing and present problems for those with breathing difficulties. Additionally, the ground near the fissures can be fragile and unstable, as one young guest famously discovered when he broke through the ground and into a scalding hot pit. As a result, I was sure to stay on the stabilized “boardwalk” the whole time, though I did stop to feel the ground near the trail; it was definitely warm!
We concluded the day with a few smaller excursions, visiting Hilo’s famous Rainbow Falls and the Boiling Pots section of the Wailuku River. We also got the chance to see Banyon trees, which are fascinating, many-trunked trees that some cultures believe are haunted. However, I just thought that they were pretty and fun to climb on. Finally, back at our beach house in Hilo, I went kayaking for the first time in years.
It was certainly a busy, exhausting day, but I’m so grateful to have been able to see so many natural marvels. I can’t wait to see what the next day holds!
-Aiden