Kilauea Caldera with Halemaumau Photo by Lanaya Deily

MEDIA RELEASE

Ken Hon Photo by G. Brad Lewis

On Saturday, September 17, the public is invited to join volcanologist Ken Hon for a trip around and into Kilauea Caldera. “On the Edge of Kilauea Caldera” is a two-part program from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. that begins with a three to four mile hike in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and ends with a gourmet lunch at the famed Kilauea Lodge in Volcano Village.

“Come find out how the current caldera formed and how it differs from the new vent that is currently active in Halema‘uma‘u Crater,” states Dr. Hon. “We’ll start at the Kilauea Visitor Center for an orientation and then a brief walk to Sulphur Banks to see the outer ring fracture system of the caldera.”

At Sulphur Banks, volcanic gases seep out of the ground and color the earth in various hues depending on chemical composition. From there, participants hike through a faulted valley and across the road to Steam Vents and Steaming Bluffs to learn about their relationship to the caldera. In this grassy meadow, ground water seeps down to the hot volcanic rocks and returns to the surface as steam.

Along the crater’s edge, participant get a great view of Halema‘uma‘u and the current vent, which holds a deep lava lake and emits a plume of gas high into the sky.

The trip then makes a steep descent–along volcanic blocks that slumped into the caldera beneath Volcano House–before taking the group out onto the northern edge of Kilauea Caldera and climbing up the switchback trail to Byron Ledge.

“The last section of the trail takes us along the old Crater Rim Drive that partially fell into the caldera during the 1975 magnitude 7.2 earthquake. The trip ends back at Kilauea Visitor Center, with our next stop lunch at the Kilauea Lodge and Restaurant,” notes Dr. Hon.

Kilauea Lodge

The Kilauea Lodge is well known for owner-chef Albert Jeyte’s continental cuisine with a touch of local flavors. Lunch includes soup, Big Island fresh catch, wine, coffee or tea, and dessert. (Vegetarians can be accommodated with advance request.) Wine will be provided compliments of the Volcano Winery.

Dr. Hon has been working on Hawaiian Volcanoes for over two decades. He is a Professor of Geology and Chair of the Research Council at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, where he has taught since 1997. Dr. Hon earned both his B.A. and Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then served as the research volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from 1987 to 1990. He currently studies emplacement of lava flows and the formation of lava tubes. Dr. Hon is also interested in hydrothermal alteration of lava and the formation of calderas. He has worked on older calderas in Colorado, Arizona, and Russia.

This event is presented by the Hawai‘i Volcanoes Institute, a program of the Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, a non-profit organization. Program cost is $60 for Friends members and $85 for non-members. Lunch is included in the tuition. Students (K-12 and college with valid student ID) are half-price. Non-members are welcome to join the Friends in order to get the member discount.

To register, call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org