Life-size Lava Lamp

There are so many amazing sights and aspects of the enviornment here in Hawaii. But it is impossible to top the lava. The Big Island is home to Kilauea, the most active volcano on Earth. It lies within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. At the coastal edge of the park, near the ocean, there are breakouts of lava from Kilauea. This is land being created! All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by undersea volcanoes that erupted over thousands and thousands of years to form the island chain. The Big Island is the youngest and is still growing by hundreds of acres per year. I have been out to the lava about 4 or 5 times. This last time, the tour group (Me, Peggy, Sara, Brian) parked at the end of Chain of Craters Rd. and began the two mile walk. The first half-mile is on paved road. Off to the left are cliffs made of old lava flows. To the right is the ocean; the waves continuously collide with the lava shoreline. After a half-mile walk, the road abruptly disappears under a black, hardened pahoehoe lava flow. For the next 1.5 miles, hikers have to weave and wind over the black lava. As you get closer to the active lava breakouts, the surface you are walking on becomes more shiny, more metallic looking. As you step, pieces break under your feet, making a clinking and cracking noise almost like glass. One way to spot flowing lava is by the air above it, which will appear very wavy, like highway ashpalt in the summer. Then you see the magic. You can get 10-15 feet away from the lava and just watch it form. Lava will break out of existing rocks, cracking the sides and lifting the tops. As it cools, the clicking, glass-breaking sound is prevalent. It is pretty safe being out there, you just have to watch where you walk and take plenty of water because it's hot.

The photos below show a couple of things. The first is where a lava flow covered a road but left a road sign. The second shot is a close-up of a cooled lava flow. The next two shots are of lava breakouts that we watched.