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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. It displays the results of hundreds of thousands of years of volcanism, migration, and evolution—processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct human culture. The park encompasses diverse environments that range from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at .
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. It displays the results of hundreds of thousands of years of volcanism, migration, and evolution—processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct human culture. The park encompasses diverse environments that range from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at . Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, offers scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and visitors' views of dramatic volcanic landscapes. The park includes of land.
Over half of the park is designated wilderness and provides unusual hiking and camping opportunities. In recognition of its outstanding natural values, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and a World Heritage Site in 1987.
The volcanic activity generated in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park helped create Kalapana (now covered by lava from recent eruptions) and other black sand beaches.
Within the park boundaries are the Thurston Lava Tube, a lava tube approximately 540 years old with a short hiking trail running through it, and the Kilauea Caldera, skirted by the Volcano House Hotel, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and the Jaggar Museum.
There is an undeveloped stretch of the Thurston Lava Tube which extends an additional beyond the developed area and dead-ends into the hillside. Though it is blocked by a chain link fence to keep unwary visitors from entering, the easily traversed stretch is in fact open to the public and accessible through a gate in the fence. Visitors to the undeveloped stretch should exercise caution on the brief climb down to the tube floor due to the rough terrain. Once past the entrance, the rest of the walk is on even ground.
History
Kilauea and its Halemaumau caldera were traditionally considered the sacred home of Pele, and Hawaiians visited the crater to offer gifts to the goddess. The first western visitors to the site, English missionary William Ellis and American Asa Thurston, encountered Kilauea in 1823. Ellis wrote of his reaction to the first sight of the erupting volcano:
A spectacle, sublime and even appalling, presented itself before us. 'We stopped and trembled.' Astonishment and awe for some moments rendered us mute, and, like statues, we stood fixed to the spot, with our eyes riveted on the abyss below.
Lorrin A. Thurston, the American reverend's grandson, was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the park in 1916.
Current Events
On March 19, 2008, there was a small explosion in Halemaumau crater, the first explosive event since 1924 and the first eruption in the Kilauea caldera since September 1982. Debris from the explosion was scattered over an area of 74 acres. A small amount of ash was also reported at a nearby community. The explosion covered part of Crater Rim Drive and damaged Halemaumau overlook. The explosion did not release any lava, which suggests to scientists that it was driven by hydrothermal or gas sources.
This explosion event followed the opening of a major sulfur dioxide gas vent, greatly increasing levels emitted from the Halemaumau crater. The dangerous increase of sulfur dioxide gas has prompted closures of Crater Rim Drive between Kilauea Military Camp south/southeast to Chain of Craters Road, Crater Rim Trail from Kilauea Military Camp south/southeast to Chain of Craters Road, and all trails leading to Halemaumau crater, including those from Byron Ledge, Iliahi (Sandalwood) Trail, and Kau Desert Trail.
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