Kilauea Iki Trail

We are meeting at the Kilauea Iki Trailhead and will only hike half a mile on the trail to the lava tube. The total hike is just over one mile. Name Meaning: Kīlauea Iki means “little Kīlauea” in Hawaiian — it’s a smaller crater right next to the main Kīlauea summit caldera. Size: The crater is about a mile long, 3,000 feet wide, and the floor lies ~400 feet below the rim — big enough to house an entire lava lake! The Legendary 1959 Eruption Spectacular Lava Fountains: In 1959, Kīlauea Iki became one of the most dramatic eruptive sites of the 20th century, with lava fountains shooting up to 1,900 feet (580 m) into the sky. Lava Lake Formation: Over several weeks of eruptions, molten lava filled the crater to form a deep lake — about 400 feet thick — one of the most studied lava lakes in history.

Nahuku - Thurston Lava Tube

We walk along the edge of Kilauea Iki Crater to a 500-year-old lava tube in a temperate rainforest. It’s a real lava tunnel formed when molten lava once flowed beneath the surface during a volcanic eruption. Once the liquid lava drained away, it left behind a hollow tube you can walk through. The lava that carved out Nāhuku was over 2,000 °F (1,093 °C) while it flowed — crazy hot! ️ This lava tube is about 500 years old, geologically quite recent. The tunnel you walk through is roughly 600 feet long and in some places the ceiling soars 20 feet high or more. Rainforest Entrance The trail to get into the tube winds through a lush native rainforest, alive with native birdsong and big ferns. You’re literally going from jungle into the heart of what used to be a river of fire!