I find the Big Island of Hawai’i to be the most interesting and beautiful of all the Hawaiian Islands. From black sand beaches to high deserts and the rainiest of rain forests, Hawai’i offers everything you can find on all the other islands combined. Oh, and did I mention volcanoes? If you have a chance to visit Volcano National Park you can experience an active volcanic zone, with steam vents and lava tubes, alive, alive O! It is your chance to feel small in the great world and I know we all want that. Please note that local legend forbids taking volcanic rock away from the islands, lest Madam Pele visit bad luck upon you until such rocks are returned to their rightful home. Please mind your manners and respect the gods.
The island of Hawai’i has five volcanic peaks: extinct Kohala; dormant Mauna Kea; and the active volcanoes Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. On Kilauea’s eastern flank there exists the Kilauea East Rift Zone which has been undergoing continuous eruptions since 1983. This extraordinary outpouring of lava has covered more than 47 square miles of existing land south of Kilauea, and produced over 500 acres of new land.
I have had a chance to bear witness to lava from Kilauea reaching the sea and exploding into a geyser of steam and sound, the cry of the Earth being born. The ancient geologic mechanisms are still at play here, deep in the dark and pressing heat, reminding us of our place in the realm of all things.
Twenty miles south of Hawai’i and 3000 feet below sea level is the slowly growing active volcanic seamount of Lo’ihi. One day millennia from now Lo’ihi will emerge and become a new Hawaiian island to take its place among the archipelago. I wonder what nascent gods will roam that future land and what legends will arise, there upon the embryonic stone?
whoisfenton 