Explosive eruptions rock Kīlauea volcano

Oli and mo'olelo of this region recount a celebrated battle at the summit of Kīlauea between Pelehonuamea, Pele, the volcano deity, and her sister Hi'iakaikapoliopele, Hi'iaka, in which Hi'iaka retaliated after a series of vengeful acts by stomping furiously and clawing into the volcano in an attempt to destroy Pele. The stories chronicle intense earthquakes and explosions that hurled rocks from the deepening pit as towering ash clouds turned day into night and lightning pierced the skies. Scientific evidence corroborates that these accounts were based on actual events: ash deposits and carbon dating confirm that Kīlauea's summit collapsed around 1490, geologists estimate the initial abyss may have been over 2,000 feet deep, and explosions recurred over the next 300 years, culminating in the deadly eruption of 1790, when ash clouds surged outward more than 2 miles. In a final display of volcanic force, violent explosions flung dense rock from the caldera floor up and over the rim, and a 6-ton boulder nearby testifies to that power. The upheaval also left a valuable resource for the people of Hawai'i, as dense fine-grained hokele rock blasted from the caldera was later used for carving canoes and making tools; in the early 1800s Samuel Kamakau wrote that adzes were fashioned at Pele's crater where hokele could be found, and in 2001 park archeologists discovered more than 277 stone-working stations in this area where skilled workers shaped hokele into knife blades, drill bits, and ko'i, one of the most important tools in pre-contact Hawaii.

Mauna Loa Estates, Hawaii · United States