Posted on: Thursday, March 24, 2005
Hot attraction brings in crowds
Associated Press
VOLCANO, Hawai'i — Large crowds of visitors at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park this week are being treated to fantastic displays of lava from Kilauea volcano.
Photos by David Jordan • Associated Press David Jordan • Associated Press "Today they had a report of three steam plumes, which means there are three ocean entries," Teri Murphy, manager of the communications center at the park, said yesterday. "Two of them are small; one is on the larger side."
The lava entering the ocean from Kilauea's east rift can create crowd-pleasing explosions and good views of red-hot flow. Murphy noted that the display is much more dramatic after dark when the lava glows a bright red.
It's a bit of a walk from Chain of Craters Road, which dead-ends where lava crossed the blacktop in April 2003. Those who want a closer look will face a three-hour roundtrip hike over cooled lava from the road, she said.
The Volcano House hotel at the Kilauea summit is sold out this week, but manager Chuck McNair said heavy booking is typical for the week leading into Easter.
The large crowds can also be attributed to spring break, he said, and to people arriving on the Big Island for next week's Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, he said.
But the lava is definitely a draw.
"The viewing has been pretty good in the last couple of weeks," McNair said.
Kilauea has been erupting continuously since Jan. 3, 1983.
The best viewing is at dawn and dusk, when the landscape is still visible but it's dark enough to see the lava's incandescence.
There are at least three points where the lava is entering the ocean, according to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
With sunset approaching, crowds gather near the shore to see lava from Kilauea volcano's east rift pour into the ocean. Views become especially spectacular after dark. Park officials on the Big Island said lava was hitting the sea at three entry points yesterday.
The steamy glow of the fiery lava below silhouettes spectators who gathered on the Puna shore for a nighttime view of Kilauea's activity. It takes a three-hour roundtrip over rough terrain to see the lava entering the sea, but the crowds have kept coming this week.
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| LEARN MORE
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: www.nps.gov/havo/ To see the flows, go to the observatory's Web camera at hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam. For more information on the lava flows, go to Web site for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at hvo.wr.usgs.gov. |
