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| Home -> Vacations -> Hawaii -> 2006 -> Maui |
| Day 1 ~ Day 2 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 4 ~ Day 5 |
March 24, 2006
Big Island
Last night I flew from Maui to Hilo (via Honolulu). Today is volcano
day. First, you can see the crater of Kilauea. This volcano has
been erupting since the early 1980s, but at this moment, the lava is
flowing out of the side down to the ocean. (See photo below.) |
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| It is amazing how fast vegetation begins growing again. I liked these flowers with the backdrop of the crater. |
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| Other areas, though, are still quite barren. |
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| In the next photo you can see a lot of the land that has been added to the island since the most recent eruption. |
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Driving down to the current lava flow (as of March 2006) was about a 20 mile trip from the crater. You also drop from about 4000 feet elevation to sea level. As you "switch back," here's a view of the lava hitting the ocean. That steam cloud contains Hydrochloric and Sulfuric acids. It's not something you should be breathing.
In this photo you can also see the clouds that I drove through on the way down. I was at 4000 feet when I started down; the clouds were at about 2500 feet. |
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| More of the vegetation growing after the lava flow. Though hard to see in this photo, the flowers have a lovely color. |
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| Okay, so were they trying to make a point with this sign or what? Also, notice the illustrations at the bottom. Notice the stick figure in #1? See what happens to him in figure #2? Not a pleasant thought. |
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| Why did the lava cross the road? (To get to the beach.) |
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| Here's the flow hitting the water from about 1 1/2 miles away. Another view is below. And, one with me in it as well. (Thanks to the couple from Seattle who took the photo for me.) |
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| Makes for an interesting coastline, don't you think? |
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| As lava flows, sometimes it forms a tunnel. The lava on the outside hardens, but the lava inside continues to flow. If the flow ceases, a hollow tube is left. This one is called the "Thurston Lava Tube." Here we have the entrance; then a photo from inside and finally one of the exit. |
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| Day 4 is on The Big Island. |
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| Unless otherwise stated, all material copyright by Michael Pullin, 2008. |
