Kilauea’s lava flow is Hawaii’s hottest show

How often do you get to watch a lava flow? Lava has been coursing through the mainland and hit the ocean in four areas as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The volcano has been spewing since 1983, putting on an occasional show for visitors and scientists.

On Saturday, authorities opened a viewing site at Kalapana at the end of Highway 130 in Puna, and about 8,000 gawkers turned out to watch lava burn its way to the sea, the Big Island Visitors Bureau says in a release. The area is open 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Proper attire: long pants, a sun hat (and apply sunscreen) and sturdy, closed-toe shoes (don’t even think about flip-flops).

The visitors bureau also warns visitors against the threat of something called “acidic laze,” which is described as “a hazardous chemical reaction of hydrochloric acid and seawater, that occurs when the extreme heat of the lava enters the sea, rapidly boils and vaporizes the seawater into visible white plumes.”

There are other ways to see the lava flows: Lava Ocean Adventures offers a three-hour tour starting at 4:30 a.m. for $199 per adult, $149 per child. Or you can hop on a Sunshine Helicopters flight for $200 (online price) and watch the action from on high. (Click here for other flying tours of the island.)

So if you happen to be visiting or are en route, peel yourself off the beach and go see the show — but you’d better be quick as changing conditions can shut the viewing area at any time.

— Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times

[Photo: An active pahoehoe lava flow on March 7, 2008 / USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 11:05 am by Mary Forgione and is filed under Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Outdoors & Adventure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.