Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Only A Day
The main feature of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is the 11-mile (18 m) Crater Rim Drive that circles Kīlauea's summit caldera. If you only have a few hours in the park, this is the trip for you.
On the drive around the summit caldera, you will see sulphur and steam vents, pit craters, lava flows erupted in 1974 and 1982, areas recovering from the cinder fallout of the 1959 eruption and a walk-through lava tube. A "must" stop is the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum, located next to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The museum, established as a visitor center in 1987, is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Although the observatory is closed to the public, the results of its scientific studies are reflected in the volcano exhibits you will see at the museum and elsewhere.
Another important stop is at Halema'uma'u, the legendary home of Pele. Halema'uma'u is 3,000 feet (914 m) across and is now more than 280 feet (85 m) deep. The crater depth has varied over the years. In 1924, it was 1,200 feet (366 m) deep, but eruptions since then, most recently in 1974 and 1982, have covered the floor with lava, decreasing its depth. Today, you will see fields of black rocks punctuated with steaming cracks that are encrusted with minerals. People with respiratory or heart ailments, pregnant women and children should avoid sulfur fumes at Halema'uma'u.
Hawaii Volcanoes In Depth
News from the Parks
Light Pollution Harms Not Just Stargazers
December 2, 2008 - 1:03pm
For students of astronomy, Sunday and Monday night is the equivalent of a World Cup Final, a new Mac operating system, and a Zeppelin reunion show all rolled into one. That’s because, as Horizons guest blogger Pete Spotts noted in his post Sunday, Jupiter, Venus, and the moon will gather to direct a lopsided frown at North America, an arrangement that won’t happen again for another 44 years.
December 2, 2008 - 1:03pm
For students of astronomy, Sunday and Monday night is the equivalent of a World Cup Final, a new Mac operating system, and a Zeppelin reunion show all rolled into one. That’s because, as Horizons guest blogger Pete Spotts noted in his post Sunday, Jupiter, Venus, and the moon will gather to direct a lopsided frown at North America, an arrangement that won’t happen again for another 44 years.
Tourists Bite on ‘Twilight’ Vampire Tours of Forks, Washington
December 2, 2008 - 12:59pm
Fans of the hit movie “Twilight,” inspired by Stephenie Meyer’s vampire series, are swarming tiny Forks on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where the novels are set, and checking out “Twilight”-themed tours, hotel packages and even food.
December 2, 2008 - 12:59pm
Fans of the hit movie “Twilight,” inspired by Stephenie Meyer’s vampire series, are swarming tiny Forks on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where the novels are set, and checking out “Twilight”-themed tours, hotel packages and even food.
Crowds Observe World AIDS Day In GG Park
December 2, 2008 - 12:56pm
People from across the country gathered in Golden Gate Park's National AIDS Memorial Grove Monday to observe the 20th annual World AIDS Day.
December 2, 2008 - 12:56pm
People from across the country gathered in Golden Gate Park's National AIDS Memorial Grove Monday to observe the 20th annual World AIDS Day.
Grounded in God, Green and Glaciers
December 2, 2008 - 12:37pm
Remember when Arizona Sen. John McCain criticized spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fund the DNA of grizzly bears in Montana during one of the presidential debates? “That’s us,” said David Restivo, a Roberts Wesleyan College alumnus and visual information specialist at Glacier National Park in Montana.
December 2, 2008 - 12:37pm
Remember when Arizona Sen. John McCain criticized spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fund the DNA of grizzly bears in Montana during one of the presidential debates? “That’s us,” said David Restivo, a Roberts Wesleyan College alumnus and visual information specialist at Glacier National Park in Montana.
Smokies' Formation Began 500 Million to 600 Million Years Ago
December 2, 2008 - 12:35pm
As the Great Smoky Mountains National Park prepares to celebrate its 75th year, students of history and geology are pondering questions that go back much farther than the park's creation in the 1930s. The most fascinating queries to them concern the actual formation of the mountains, their age and topography.
December 2, 2008 - 12:35pm
As the Great Smoky Mountains National Park prepares to celebrate its 75th year, students of history and geology are pondering questions that go back much farther than the park's creation in the 1930s. The most fascinating queries to them concern the actual formation of the mountains, their age and topography.
