Kilauea lava flow attracting visitors
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — Two prongs of molten lava from Kilauea volcano crept to within 200 feet of the ocean before stalling yesterday atop the Wilipe'a ledge.
For lava-viewing information and safety tips, visit www.nps.gov/havo/
An average of 1,200 visitors a day are now coming to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park to watch the flow, a considerable increase over normal traffic, according to a park spokeswoman.
Viewing tips
visitor/lava.htm#where
The lava on Wednesday poured down a steep slope and out onto the ledge, which was formed by another flow more than a year ago, damaging a rope-and-post barrier that park workers erected to keep visitors away. The outcropping where the lava has stalled could abruptly collapse into the sea, as other ledges, or benches, have done in the past.
People standing outside the barrier still have an excellent view of the flow, which scientists dubbed the "banana" flow because it surfaced near a stand of banana trees, said Don Swanson, scientist-in-charge at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
"The flow was quite sluggish and almost stagnant this morning after having been quite active yesterday, so who knows what the next day will bring," Swanson said yesterday.
When and whether the flow reaches the ocean depends on the supply of lava, he said.
"There's just no way of knowing because the lava is being supplied in fits and starts. If it wanted to, it could make it to the ocean in a matter of an hour or two, but apparently it just isn't receiving that kind of supply now," he said.
To see the flow, park visitors must park off the Chain of Craters Road, walk a half-mile along the road, then walk three-quarters of a mile on old lava flows to get to the viewing area.
The Kilauea eruption began Jan. 3, 1983, and lava flows since then have created more than 500 acres of new land along the coast.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertis er.com or (808) 935-3916.
