Page 1380 - Dive the Seas and More-2

many places to stop for scenic views and eruptions has gradually filled the crater
short walks. The pullouts and easy hikes
to magnificent viewpoints all around this
drive are perfect for visitors who have a
limited amount of time to visit the park.
Others will want to more closely explore
Sulphur Banks, Steam Vents, Jaggar
Museum, Halemaumau Crater,
Keanakakoi Crater, Devastation Trail,
Kilauea Iki Crater, Thurston Lava Tube,
and the area around the Visitor Center and
the Volcano House Hotel.
HALEMAUMAU OVERLOOK One of
the highlights of your trip around Crater
Rim Drive is this short hike past a rock-
strewn barren landscape, spewing with
noxious fumes, to this unbelievable
lookout. It is at this lookout that you will
begin to understand the magnitude of the
awesome Halemaumau Crater and the
much larger Kilauea Crater.
SCALE COMPARISON How big is the
Halemaumau Crater and the Kilauea
Crater? This drawing of the Aloha
Stadium in Honolulu is to scale with this
map for comparison to these huge craters.
Fifteen stadiums would fit on the floor of
the Halemaumau Crater, and over 150
stadiums would fit within the Kilauea
Crater.
HALEMAUMAU CRATER This is the
home of Pele, the Hawaiian Goddess of
Fire. This site is sacred to Hawaiians.
The crater is currently 280 feet deep and
3000 feet in diameter. After a huge
eruption in 1924, the crater was 1345 feet
deep. Since then, a series of smaller
with lava. Halfway up the sides of the
crater a ledge can be seen, which marks
the level of a lake of lava that was present
in 1967 to 1968. Much of the lava on the
floor of the crater is from a 1974 eruption.
As you walk out to the overlook, you will
smell sulphureous volcanic fumes. These
fumes are hazardous to young children,
pregnant women, the elderly, and persons
with respiratory or heart problems.
Halemaumau last erupted in 1982.
SOUTHWEST RIFT ZONE Crater Rim
Drive crosses Kilauea's Southwest Rift
Zone, where the ground is deeply
fractured in an area of weak surface along
the volcano's flanks. The Southwest Rift
Zone starts at Kilauea's summit and
continues to the coast and down into the
sea below. This area receives 40 inches of
rain per year, yet looks void of vegetation.
This is because the 300 tons daily of
Sulphur dioxide gas coughed up by the
Halemaumau Crater creates natural acid
rain.
NENE The Hawaiian Goose, an
endangered species, is the Hawaii state
bird. The Nene nests and feeds in the
park. Please be aware that speed limits are
in place for their protection. Please do not
feed the geese as this encourages them to
approach dangerous traffic.
“A’A” VERSUS “PAHOEHOE”
Geologists world-wide use these ancient
Hawaiian words to describe the two
distinct types of lava, which are found all