Pele Speaks on Earth Day

In Hawaiian, "Pele" can mean lava flow, volcano, eruption, or volcanic. It's also the name of the Hawaiian volcano goddess, Pele, who is revered and feared in Hawaiian culture.

According to Kamakau, Pele is also the name for a volcanic manifestation or spirit.

“Pele, the sacred living deity of Hawai'i's volcanoes, controls the limitless power of creation through her perseverance, molten strength, and unearthly beauty. Her passion emanates from her ancient existence. Revered and honored is the fire goddess."

Michael checked the website for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park this morning and it said the volcano started to erupt again early this morning. It had stopped on April 9th. So......after breakfast we started the two hour journey to the park. As it is Earth Day, entrance to the park is free. I brought along my National Parks Pass, but it didn't matter.

Watching a volcano erupt is quite unique and exiting. It certainly is a once in a life time experience. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily so the pictures are not as sharp as I would like. However, I am still very exited to have seen the eruption in person and have taken some pictures.

Lava fountains have reached heights of more than 650 feet (200 meters) at the south vent, and more than 160 feet from the north vent.

Lava is currently covering about 20 percent of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

I am thrilled we were able to see it erupt as it suddenly stopped erupting later in the afternoon.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY STATUS REPORTU.S. Geological SurveyTuesday, April 22, 2025, 2:20 PM HST (Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 00:20 UTC)

KILAUEA (VNUM #332010)

19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)

Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH

Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary: 

Episode 18 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 1:28 p.m. HST on April 22.

The north and south vents stopped erupting at approximately the same time.  The fountaining phase of episode 18 began at 3:20 a.m. this morning and lasted for 10 hours and 8 minutes.  Lava erupted from both vents with maximum fountains from the south vent reaching over 600 feet (200 meters) high while those from the north vent remained below 200 feet (60 meters high).  Approximately 5 million cubic meters were erupted at about 140 cubic meters per second.  Lava flows from both vents covered over 60% of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu within the southern part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera).

Deflationary tilt at the summit recorded 13 microradians during this episode.  The end of the eruption was coincident with a rapid change from deflation to inflation at the summit and a rapid drop in seismic tremor intensity.  

Each episode of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 23, 2024, has continued for 13 hours to 8 days and episodes have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting less than 24 hours to 12 days.

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and will issue an eruption update tomorrow morning unless there are significant changes before then. 

Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Hazards: 

This episodic eruption is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. High levels of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—are the primary hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects downwind. As SO2 is continuously released from the summit during an eruption, it will react in the atmosphere to create the visible haze known as vog (volcanic smog) downwind of Kīlauea. SO2 and vog may cause respiratory and other problems at high concentrations.

Additional hazards include Pele's hair and other volcanic fragments from lava fountains. Pele's hair is strands of volcanic glass often produced by lava fountaining activity. Volcanic fragments can fall on the ground within a few hundred yards (meters) of the eruptive vent(s), or downwind of the vent(s). Strong winds may waft light particles, including Pele's hair, to greater distances downwind. Once they are on the ground, Pele's hair can sometimes cluster and tangle together, giving it the appearance of a tumbleweed. The extent of Pele's hair deposition is dependent on lava fountaining activity and current wind conditions. Residents and visitors should minimize exposure to Pele's hair and other volcanic fragments, which can cause skin and eye irritation.

Hawaiian lava flows generally advance slowly downslope, and during this eruption flows have been confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera. 

Other significant hazards also remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of Kīlauea's caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since late 2007.

Ōhiʻa lehua, is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii.

It is a highly variable tree, being 20–25 m (66–82 ft) tall in favorable situations, and a much smaller prostrate shrub when growing in boggy soils or directly on basalt. It produces a brilliant display of flowers, made up of a mass of stamens, which can range from fiery red to yellow. Many native Hawaiian traditions refer to the tree and the forests it forms as sacred to Pele, the volcano goddess, and to Laka, the goddess of hula. ʻŌhiʻa trees grow easily on lava, and are usually the first plants to grow on new lava flows.

There is so much delicate moss covering parts of the trees.

Some of the sights along the way to the volcano. We started on the west side of the island where it is dry and sunny and drove to the east side of the island where there receive more rain.

Fire danger in this area is extreme.

We passed a military training base.

Passed a huge solar farm.

Michael and I enjoy watching the sun set.