“It fascinates, enthralls, overwhelms. The camera cannot measure its depth, convey its sounds, or depict its glow. Those and only those who have heard its roar or felt its burning heat can ever know the power, the wonder, the magic of the spell it casts upon one.” Frances King Headler, June 11,1909

Who could have known that the fountains of fire that first lit up the night sky on Jan. 3, 1983, would continue to burn so brightly a quarter-century later?

At Hawai‘i Volcanoes, we bear witness to the longest-lived rift activity of a Hawaiian volcano in the past 800 years, and there is no end in sight.

Every minute, another 50,000 gallons of molten rock gush from cracks on the volcano's flank. Every day, enough lava flows from Kilauea to fill Diamond Head Crater to a depth of 1 foot. The eruption has produced enough lava to cover the entire District of Columbia to a depth of 62 feet.

Lava buried the park’s coastal visitor center at Waha‘ula in June 1989 and the campground at Kamoamoa in November 1992. The ongoing flow of lava has buried miles of Chain of Craters Road since November 1986 and tens of thousands of archeological features. It has torched expansive tracts of woodland and rainforest, home to rare species of native plants and animals ongoing from 1983 until today.

But wherever lava spills into the sea, the island grows. During the past 25 years, it has added more than 200 acres of new coastline to the park … without political fanfare or congressional approval.

“We leave this record as a warning to future travelers to be cautious — as the lava is constantly breaking in and changing it is scarcely possible for those most familiar with the crater to know with certainty where it is safe.” L. E. Harris, March 11, 1874

Every day, visitors arrive by the thousands seeking to stand on the edge of creation, to view this incredible spectacle of nature. Those most fortunate see rivers of molten rock cascade down the pali, ignite trees, overrun roads and pour into the sea. They hear the booms of methane explosions and the hiss, pops and crackles of an advancing flow. Lava's radiant glow warms hands and hearts.

Currently, the volcano vents nearly 4,000 tons of sulfur dioxide a day, enough noxious gas to fill 200 Goodyear blimps . During his visit to Kilauea in 1866, Mark Twain quipped, “The smell of sulphur is strong but not unpleasant to a sinner.” We try to avoid the fumes and advise visitors do the same.

Flowing lava is dangerous and unpredictable. Here, in one of Earth’s most hostile physical environments, the park maintains a superlative safety record:

It attests to the professionalism and dedication of rangers who work from early morning into the night with one thought foremost on their mind, the safety of park visitors. They adjust operations to ever-changing volcanic conditions. They mark trails, put up closed area signs and run rope as a boundary indicator between old sea cliff and unstable new coastline.

It attests to the good sense of the overwhelming majority of park visitors who take their health and safety seriously. They stay on trails, obey signs and heed the rangers' warnings. 

It attests to the self-governing nature of a 2,000-degree-Fahrenheit lava flow. It’s primordial. It beckons, but at the same time warns, “Stay back, I'm hot.”

“Pele, the sacred living deity of Hawai‘i’s volcanoes, controls the limitless power of creation through her perseverance, molten strength, and unearthly beauty. Her passion emanates from her ancient existence. Revered and honored is the fire goddess. She is my spiritual guardian and forever the heartbeat of my soul, continuously giving life to her land and its people."  Pele Hanoa, August 8, 2004

At Kilauea, the very ground is sacred to native Hawaiians. Lava flows and volcanic formations are manifestations of Pele-honua-mea, a deity both feared and revered. When her molten body moves, the ground trembles, and the sky is afire — those who know whisper in awe, "‘Ae, aia la o Pele, yes, there is Pele."

We continue on an incredible journey in a place where footsteps often cannot be retraced. It is here on Earth’s most active volcano that everlasting memories are forged. How appropriate on this, the occasion of the eruption’s Silver Anniversary, to reflect upon what was and look forward to what will be.

“Nuthin' like it in Oklahoma.” H. T. Collins, April,8 1920

 

 

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