These first few shots are the big picture of Kilauea Iki (which means "little Kilauea." as it's a much smaller crater than the huge caldera.) This is a panorama shot taken as we descend from the ridge trail leading from the visitor center. In the distant upper right is the grandmother of all mountains: Mauna Loa, the biggest mountain in the world (and a shield volcano as you can see from its gently rising slope.)
Kilauea Iki is a collapse crater (meaning it essentially imploded when the weight of the rocks fell back into the pocket created by the exiting magma).
Most of the magma from the eruption shot up from the vents at the lower right of the hill on the left. At distant center is the Halema'uma'u crater which has been the scene of action for centuries -- unlike the shot-in-the-pan Kilauea Iki which had its 15 minutes of flame in the waning days of 1959.
To get from the ridge trail to the floor of the crater, hikers descend a series of rain-forested switchbacks.
Here's a couple native Hawaiians on the descent (in more ways than one).
The hike is about 4 miles, but distance means less than the height. Altogether, this was a moderate hike. The hapu'u tree fern seen here is a real Hawaiian native and extremely common along this trail.
When you reach the crater floor, you see a faint trail worn by sightseer footsteps. It's easy to spot at first as people are walking toward you. Once we had the trail to ourselves, however, we had to scan the rocks and neighboring ridges for trail signs lest we wander through this bleak landscape forever.
But not all is so bleak 50 years later: These next few shots are of the native Ōhi'a lehua or Lehua tree which has adapted to life with the volcano like the 500 pound gorilla it is. The Ōhi'a lehua loves the volcanic basalt. Consequently, the Hawaiians view it as sacred to their volcano goddess, Pele. When this evergreen grows in volcanic soil, it's typically a small shrub as seen here.
This shot shows both the berries and the flower. When the volcano kicks up its output of poisonous gasses, the breathing pores of the leaves (called stomata) quickly close to protect the plant. Once the wind shifts, they open back up.
The Ōhi'a lehua produces stamen-bristled orange flowers -- little pompoms. While the red-orange seen here is the most common color, salmon, pink, and yellow can be found. In Hawaiian myth, the plant (male) and flower (female) were separated lovers who rejoined in the flora world. If you pick the flower and separate them again, rain will fall to signify the lover's tears. Since we were getting enough rain during this wet season visit on the wet side of the island, we let these gorgeous flowers stay put.
The berries are an important food source for native birds. When the Ōhi'a lehua gets into deep moist soil, it can grow into an evergreen tree as high as 80-100 feet. It's the most common tree in Hawaii, growing from sea level to the tree line. It is one of the first plants to spring out of new volcanic soil; in a rain forest, it can put its roots into tree stumps.
As we approached the South Wall where the eruption was centered, we found still steaming holes where the lava had flowed back down into the underlying chamber.
Proceeded by over 1000 small earthquakes starting in September, the brief 1959 eruption consisted of 17 episodes resulting in a lava lake 400' deep. Almost 90% of the lava flowed back into the chambers through rifts such as this.
We approached the still-steaming south rim. This hill was created by lava fountains up to 250' tall on November 17, 1959.
The residue of that lava fountain created a new cone which the Hawaiians called Pu’u Pua`i which means gushing hill. For a picture of that fountain, try this site: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1959Nov14/19591119_0400_JPE_L.jpg
71 million cubic meters of lava flowed out -- but all but 8 million flowed back into the rifts. The rock below is still hot nearly 50 years later and turns into steam when rain water seeps into the cracks.
Here's a closeup of the major rift in the base of the Pu’u Pua`i cone. The 17 eruptions were spewed from here in huge fountains. The prevailing Southwest winds created the cone, accumulating ash from right to left. Lots more details from the US Geological Survey at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/gallery/kilauea/caldera/srb980819038_caption.html
Here's a typical vent in the floor of the crater...
...with my foot to give you an idea that these rifts are not too large.
Here's some other shots of this bleak landscape:
If you want more information on Kilauea Iki, try this site: http://www.nps.gov/archive/havo/visitor/journal_kilaueaiki.htm
