Today was a good day. A few of us started the day with an early morning (5:45) sunrise…

…and then Mac made chocolate chip pancakes for the group. They were delicious (thxs Mac 🙂 ) 

We got going at 9:15, and our first stop was a gas station, where we found ✨Trolli Eggs✨

After we fueled ourselves and our vehicles, we moved to Puhimau Crater, our first stop on the Chain of Craters Road (pictured below). Pit craters like this one form when the ground collapses, usually fairly quickly. They are formed when deep internal cracks form and move upwards. The very bottoms of the craters fill with rock rubble, and as more lava flows occur, most fill in. Find more information about pit crater formation here. 

The next stop was Devil’s Throat (pictured below), which was a neat stop because it wasn’t in the market at all, so it was not very crowded. We did learn about Dang-It Jimmy, a friend of Dr. Knapp’s (question mark?), and we all stayed away from the edge to avoid falling in and becoming Dang-It (insert name). We learned the crater was on Kilauea’s east rift zone and it is 165 feet deep. 

We stopped at a restroom later, and Caroline, Abby, and I found some cool iridescent rocks… we also met a really interesting man who had an intricate necklace made of these tiny seashells he collected years ago. He was from Minnesota and had lots of fun destination advice. He also had some theories about how there is a joint alien-human base on the dark side of the moon, which is an interesting idea to ponder…

Next, we went and saw some petroglyphs often used as umbilical cord offerings to ensure a long life for the child. It was also meant to tie the person to the land, which is a beautiful idea. I have always liked learning about how people in the past had such close connections with the land they lived in. In America, we sometimes forget all that the Earth gives us, and I think being reminded of that helps us remember why we should care about threats to it (like climate change). 

Our last stop was a sea column, which was an absolutely gorgeous stop. 

After that, we headed back, and I cooked mac-n-cheese, Caroline made burgers, and we celebrated Van’s birthday 🙂 She cut the cake like a mad-woman, which you will be able to see below. Then we all watched Moana and went to sleep. 

Once again, I started off my morning very early: at 5:30. I watched the beautiful sunrise with Lucy! Then afterward, continued with my habitual snorkeling session in the morning.

We took our first stop at the chain of craters, specifically the Puhimau Crater. This is a pit crater along the south east rift zone of the shield volcano Kīlauea. Pit craters form from when lava drains, and the ground collapses in on itself. This pit crater features erosional collapse features since it never refilled with lava. It is around 200-600 years old, and has mostly pahoehoe flows. The name Puhimau means forever smoking, which can be seen through the steam around the top of the crater.

We made another stop at a lava field, and saw some vesicular lava rock. This rock was very shiny with multicolor/iridescence, and was surprisingly light when picking it up! While walking back, we met a local who showed us some local tropical fruit and this beautiful shell necklace he made 20 years ago. The local (well sort of local, he’s actually from Minnesota), suggested places we travel, but they were already on the list!

Something that really amazes me about Hawaii is that the horizon is literally the ocean! How cool!

Stopping for lunch we were able to see the lava travel all the way to the ocean, and once again, the two types of lava. It was phenomenal. Look at the pictures below! We were able to see the pali too, which are cliffs in Hawaiian! The tension from the caldera causes the large blocks to drop off, creating landslides and the cliffs. There are two motions types with pali. The quick motion creates tsunamis, but there are also the creep, which are the slow, constant movements along the normal faults. Later, driving down, we could again really see the difference in the two lava flows!

We then visited the Pu’uloa petroglyphs. Hawaiian natives utilized sharp tools to create impressions in the lava surface. Each circle represents an umbilical cord in these petroglyphs. There are a variety of petroglyphs here of people, animals, canoes, and more. 16,000 of the 23,000 were made to put umbilical cords in. This offering was made to the mountain goddess in honor of one’s child, asking her to give them a long life and to connect them to their ancestors and the land.

After that slightly hot hike, we then drove to the sea arch by the Holei Pali and saw the bluest blue ocean I have ever seen in my entire life. It was jaw dropping. Driving with the windows down looking at the waves crashing up the cliffs and the deep blue was unforgettable. Sea arches start as a sea cliff, from where the lava meets the sea. Once the lava cools, it erodes, and the wind and water fracture the cliffs into sea caves. Then the waves erode it into sea arches. Unfortunately, this famous arch won’t be here forever. After enough time, the waves will erode the arch and create a column of rocks.

We ended our day jamming out to music on the way back to the Airbnb, grilling up some burgers and making Lucy’s famous Mac and cheese, decorating an awesome shark birthday cake for Van, getting some flicks while snorkeling, and then watching a movie! I’m writing this before the movie activities, but hopefully we will watch Journey to the Center of the Earth! See you all next time!

Fun PSA… I overcame my fear of the ocean! Kaden told us how we are 30x more likely to die from a coconut falling on us rather than a shark attack, so I ended my day with an hour or two in the water hanging on some kayaks, snorkeling around, and getting some good shots on my GoPro.

Today I again woke up at 5:30 to see the sun rise. That was not as exciting today as the sun was blocked by the clouds. The setting was still very enjoyable and relaxing. I sat there and just listened to the ocean and the waves crashing into the rocks. I came back later did some school work, got ready for the day, and then we loaded the car and went back to the Volcano National Park to go to the Chain of Craters. 

We began by going to the Puhimau crater which means “forever smoking.” This is a pit crater that is created when magma drains back into the earth making this geologic wonder. Located on the Kilauea Southeast rift zone this crater has erosion-collapsed features giving the crater its steeply-sided look. We were able to see multiple vents and you can still see steam if you are lucky enough (we sadly were not). This crater was not filled in but others can be because of lava. Puhimau is between 200-600 years old which is a wide range in the geologic world. 

After this, we went to a more hidden crater called Devils Throat. Found by geologist Thomas Jagger this crater is 165 meters deep. The cross sections (layers) of the crater are very visible and were amazing to see. One would think that the lava drains very slowly to create these craters but in reality, they drain extremely quickly. We then stopped by Manua Ulu which erupted between 1969-1974. The damage this caused was very visible and created a black rocky desert. We then met an amazing guy named Tim who was very friendly and had some interesting ideas. After this, we stopped for lunch with a beautiful view of the water. After we devoured our lunch we went to Pu’uloa and did a one-mile hike. I taught people how to play a fun game called “ice cream or pickle.” We then drove to the sea arch and came back to our Airbnb. I then went snorkeling and am about to have hamburgers for dinner.  

By Mac Malambri

I awoke to chirping birds, crocking frogs, and the panic of realizing that everyone in my room had left. My professor told us we would have an early start today, but didn’t specify how early. Had all the other guys left without waking me up? Fortunately, no. They went for a sunrise swim. I had an hour and a half before our “early”—AM—departure.

After a quick breakfast, we departed for the Hawaiian Volcanos National Park. Hawaiian Volcanos National Park is home to the volcanic crater on Kiluaea. This crater is home to Pelé in traditional Hawaiian religion. Pele is the Godess of fire, lava, eruptions, and really everything related to volcanos. She must be appeased to avoid tragic eruptions. Historians can actually use the legends about Pele and her eruptions to understand eruptions prior to European arrival. The crater first erupted in 1959. The primary fissure quickly formed from multiple smaller fissures. It shot up 1900 ft above the fissure. The fissure provided geologists an opportunity to understand how lava solidifies into rock. We ventured into the crater. It was incredible. It was huge. It was mostly flat, but consisted of what looked like upside-down plates that meet at joints. There were small plants that had grown on the rock, but it was largely barren. Dominating the crater was a huge tower of rock where the fissure once stood. When the fissure erupted, it filled the crater, creating an immense lava lake. It slowly solidified with the surface rock solidifying in plates that appeared like miniature tectonic plates before they sank, being denser than the surrounding lava. This process continued until eventually a surface solidified over more solid rock and could not sink. Before it solidified, there were waves of hot lava traveling across this lava lake. There are photos from the eruption, but I having stood in the crater, I can tell that these photos do not capture the immense beauty that must have radiated from a scene in Dante’s inferno present on earth.

Once we hiked out of the crater, we entered a lava tube. When lava is flowing, it can have difference in temperatures. This can result in some lava solidifying around still liquid lava. Once this liquid lava drains, it leaves a tube. They are so cool and so dark. I made the bold choice to not bring a head lamp or phone. It was just light enough that I was alright, but I was a little nervous being the tallest person in the group. We think drove to the visitors center/Volcano Hotel. The visitors center had some beautiful art. It was a great place to have lunch. Unfortunately, the humidity of Hawaii is not great for our bread which was moldy. After the visitors center, we walked to the Volcano Hotel. It overlooks the Kiluaea caldera which is just incredible. I got to the overlook and sat in one of the rocking chairs before our lesson on this feature. Once the lesson ended, it took all my willpower to wish the comfort of that chair and beauty of the caldera goodbye.

After the caldera, we went to the sulfur banks. The primary mineral in the rocks that come from volcanos is silica. Though Hawaiian basalts have unusually low silica content, resulting in their generally less explosive nature, they still have silica. Near the volcano, silica escapes the volcano through small fractures. These sulfur banks smell like sulfur. You can find them near many volcanos, including Yellowstone and—of course—Kilauea. Personally, I think that the sulfur smell is not that strong and it feels so nice to have the humid air blow over your face, but most people shunned it. There is a boardwalk that allows us to see the sulfur banks, despite the unstable ground. The heat from the evaporating sulfur warms the ground to around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. In the 90s, a boy stepped off the boardwalk and fell several feet. He endured charred skin from his chest through his legs from mere seconds in contact with the hot ground. If you think about how hot a black sidewalk is on a sunny day in summer, the rocks around the sulfur banks would be twice that temperature.

We finished the day with a tour of rainbow falls. It is on the first river we encountered on the island. In areas formed by newer flows, such as those surrounding Kilauea and Mauna Loa, there has not been enough time for the rock to erode into rivers, but further northwest, rivers form on the old flows of Mauna Kea. Rainbow falls were cool, but much cooler were the trees we encountered. These trees appear like a bunch of tiny vines that form webs that become trees. It is erre. Van—who is Vietnamese—told us that Vietnam, these trees are supposedly home to those who are trapped on earth after death. There, you avoid those trees at night.

We finished the day with some ocean kayaking and spaghetti night. It was really good. We watched Teen Beach Movie, in keeping with music we had listened in the car the day before. Overall, this has been my favorite day so far.

We started the day with a beautiful 3 mile hike around and through the crater of Kilauea Iki Volcano. The first part included a beautiful rainforest hike and then we descended onto the solidified lava lake. A vent wear lava exploded from is visible and we stood in an overlook spot in which this vent spewed lava thousands of feet, setting the rainforest on fire. Pele is the goddess of fire and volcanoes, so she is a large part of the volcano’s actions and consequences on the land.

Finally, we stopped at rainbow falls to admire a beautiful water fall as well as an incredibly intricate tree just next to the waterfall. Our TA for the trip, Katie, is a Fluvial Geomorphologist, and explained how a waterfall is a nick point where a drastic change of elevation occurs in a river.

 

 

We ended the day with a bit of snorkeling and swimming, I saw many cute fish and one sea turtle 🐢

Thank you for following along! This day included a few other stops, but I wanted to highlight the big stops that I personally enjoyed the most! This trip has been incredible and I can not wait for the next week and a half!!

Grace Mitchener

We started early in the morning and drove into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to get a closer look at the island chain’s youngest and most active volcano. Luckily, we got a parking spot right in front of the trailhead and were able to begin our journey after applying copious amounts of sunscreen. The hike started in luscious, dense jungle greenery, where we traveled along the top of the crater. Once we came to the first lookout point, we were in awe of the size and beauty of the crater.

This vast crater was created by an eruption in November 1959, during which lava began to flow. Scientists knew this eruption was coming months before due to the intense earthquakes in the area and the pressurization of the magma gathering towards the surface. The first lava came from a half-mile-long fissure that created a horrifyingly beautiful curtain of lava.

Over the following weeks, the lava spewed thousands of feet high, even reaching the far side of the crater. A new cinder cone was created, and the magma began to fill the reservoir, creating a lava lake. Once the magma covered the top of the vents, eruptions stopped and began draining back into the vents. Today, a bathtub ring is still visible around the crater, which shows how high the lava reached. After hiking along the top of the crater, we descended to the floor of the once-molten lava lake. We got to see and feel firsthand the rocks that had erupted almost 70 years ago. In fact, the lava lake did not fully solidify until the 90s, giving geologists a rare opportunity to study the process of cooling rocks. As we traveled through the bottom of the crater, we all had an out-of-body experience and felt like we were adventurers from Journey to the Center of the Earth or Jurassic Park. We could see evidence of the flowing lava in the dried rocks below our feet from the folds close together. This hike was one of my favorite things we have done so far, as I fulfilled my childhood dreams of seeing a real-life volcano!

After visiting Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, the class made a surprise stop at one of the Big Island’s not-so-hidden treasures: Rainbow Falls at the Wailuku River State Park.

Nestled along the final few miles of the Wailuku river, Rainbow Falls or Waiānuenue, gets its name for the visible rainbows in the mist around 10am on sunny days. The 100-foot cascade falls over a natural lava cave which is home to Hina, the Hawaiian goddess of the ocean and moon and mother to the Demi-God Maui. 

The real treasure of Wailuku River State Park though is not Rainbow Falls. Most visitors seem to skip the upper viewing area, assuming it is just a different view of the same thing. But, behind this viewing platform, there is a hidden 600-year old banyan tree. Though, Banyan trees are prevalent in Hilo, this one is different. The giant Banyan hs been engulfed with fig vines and aerial prop rots that make the tree feel like there are multiple trunks. 

Just a half a mile up the Wailuku river, you will find Pe’epe’e Falls and the boiling pots. 

Pe’epe’e falls feeds a series of pools, which are known as the boiling pots. The pots are connected by a series of cascading waterfalls along columns that were formed from the slow cooling of basalt lava.

The Wailuku is the second largest river in Hawai’i, which flows where Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea meet. The heavy rains and water give the water its “boiling effect” where Mo’o Kuna, a vengeful lizard, lives. After trying to drown Hina, who resides beneath Rainbow Falls downstream, Hina’s son Maui chased Mo’o upstream. At the Boiling Pots, Mo’o hid in the pools and Maui could not find him. Then, Maui called upon Pele for hot stones, which Maui threw in the river to give the water its boiling effect, thus driving Mo’o Kuna from his hiding place and creating the Boiling Pots. 

The Wailuku river hosts birds and marine life, specifically surrounding the Boiling Pots. Among the marine life is the ʻOʻopu nākea or rock-climbing goby. 

The ‘O’opu Nopili is native to the Big Island and prevalent along the Hamakua coast. The ‘O’opu has developed a unique skill: the ability to climb waterfalls. The ‘O’opu is an inch long goby which uses suckers in its mouth and belly to move up steep cliffs and waterfalls that are prevalent in its native Hawaiian habitat.  At some point in the O’opu’s evolved to have their pelvic fins fuse together to create a suction cup, which allows them to climb up sheer vertical cliff faces. 

Yesterday we did the Kilauea Iki hike. I woke up at 5:30 to go and see the sunrise and man was it beautiful. The sun rose above the clouds and it was worth the early rise. After this, I went snorkeling and then came back to the house to get dressed for the four-mile hike. We arrived around nine and began our 400-foot descent into the Kilauea Iki crater. This crater was formed when an eruption began in 1959 with one fissure and lasted for five weeks with multiple eruptive episodes. Rocks erupted everywhere but luckily nobody was injured. While Nobody was hurt the forest was overrun with lava and debris. 

When hiking down there are beautiful views of the once lava lake now black rock. After an eruptive episode, the lava would drain back into a vent at four times faster than the eruption. As the lava drained back into the earth the crust collapsed around 50 feet leaving behind cracked uneven rocks. As we walked across the one lava-filled river there was life. It is said that Pele’s (Volcano goddess) sister filled the crater with new life. The cracks in the rocks allow for seeds to be planted for new life to unfold. 

After we exited the crater we went to the lava tube which was my favorite part of the day. As the lava flows through the earth the rock around the tube hardens and makes the lava tube. We next went to the Kilauea Summit. This summit is known as the home of Pele. This spot is known as the home of Pele as it is the most active volcano in Hawaii. There was an eruption in 2018 and in 2019 there was water in the caldera. People were very afraid that if the volcano were to erupt the consequences would be disastrous. The water would have made the eruption more explosive causing more damage than a regular eruption but luckily this did not happen. This was the morning and afternoon of my day 2 in Hawaii. 

Good morning from Hilo! It’s currently 7:00 am here and I’m writing this from the living room of our airbnb. We had a busy day yesterday – we left the house at 8 am and didn’t come back until almost 5 pm!

We started out with the Kilauea Iki hike. It was about 3.5 miles in total, and we both saw some amazing views of the crater and walked right through it! We stopped several times throughout the hike to learn about the history of the caldera and its collapse, as well as take some awesome photos.

 

After that, we walked through the Thurston lava tube. It was chilly, dark, and damp inside, but it was so neat! That was one of my favorite parts of the day. Kaden took this photo of me as we entered it – you can really see how excited I was:

Then, we were all so hungry and it was almost noon, so we walked back to the vans and got our lunch. We couldn’t eat some of the bread because it was already moldy (thanks Walmart), but it was still super tasty – I had some turkey, cheese, an apple, a bit of candy, and a lot of potato chips. When we were done eating, we walked around the Volcano House art gallery and the rest of the gift shops. I bought some cool volcano socks and a bunch of postcards to give to my friends when we get home!

After that, Aiden taught us more about the caldera before we headed down the road to see and learn about the sulphur banks and steam vents. Those were also really neat – I enjoyed learning about the chemical processes that the rocks go through! We then headed back towards Hilo and our airbnb, but stopped at Rainbow Falls and a massive bunyan tree, which was SO cool. It’s thousands of years old and super impressive. Here’s a photo:

We then came back to our airbnb, and a bunch of us went across the street to the beach to snorkel and kayak around. I learned how to snorkel and swam around with a bunch of fish for a while – SO cool! – and also kayaked around for a little bit with Van. The water is so clear here, it’s amazing. Then we had dinner (pasta with meatballs and garlic bread) and started Teen Beach Movie, but we got so tired that we went to bed before we could finish it. All in all, it was an awesome day, and I’m excited for what today will bring!