I was 11 years old in 59. I probably saw this in news reels when I went to Saturday movies at the base theater then. For 25 cents admission we got newsreel, several cartoons and two movies. This week I'm watching cams of the eruption that just started in the active crater. I have noticed that the lava lake is not flat and completely smooth. This video gives me an idea how it may look in future when the crater is not active anymore. Near the beginning my quest for the larger denser rock was that it had fallen from the Craters edge. Through these videos I have seen so much I would have missed if I had gotten to go to Hawaii. My family would have gone to the top, let me look over the edge for a few minutes. Then it would ne OK let's go to the beach. I'm thrilled by being able to pause and repeat parts for a long look. With my current health I couldn't even make the trip to the airport. This is good for me to learn and see geology. Thank you!
Also 10 years old in 1959 at the matinee double feature movies, cartoons and newsreel Hawaii volcano eruption..Its been quite the journey for all of us.
I lived in Hawai'i when it erupted! My earliest memory is of the Kilauea Ski eruption....seeing the lava and being right there is probably one of the reasons I ended up becoming a geologis. Although I eventually settled on paleontology, I am still fascinated by volcanoes, and helped at Ashfall NE when it was first being developed, back in the 70's, which brought paleontology into direct contact with volcanoes. Can't get better than that! Thanks for your wonderful videos, I get to enjoy your field trips without trying to hike anymore....
In the early 80's my 1st wife and I hiked this memorable trail. An eruption had occured not too long prior to our visit and it was quite warm hiking the trail.
Thanks for this wonderful video! I walked across the Kilauea Iki caldera in 1974 - as a 12 year old I found it to be a fascinating place. But it's even more amazing to understand how it formed during the 1959 eruption. Thanks for the guided tour!
Because I live here while watching this video I kept saying "Shawn, get back on the trail!" 😆 I figured you being a geologist with your students you were allowed to do that since you'd understand where you're walking. For the rest of you out there, the trails are your friend. The last time I walked in there was just after Halema'uma'u's lava lake started, somewhere in 2008.
Great stuff. Given what's going on at Kilauea right now, I'm curious: when was this video shot? (That would be generally useful info for all your videos actually.)
Thanks! Calling it a lava lake is totally appropriate as I remember a Newsreel (remember those?) at the Drive-in showing the molten lake. So on the big screen it really imprinted itself on my mind at 9 years old. I can still see it in my Mind's Eye so to speak. I couldn't recollect if it was Kilauea or Mauna Loa, but now I know it was Kilauea. This video reminds me of Lavic Lake, California a huge lava area from a single cinder cone called Pisgah Crater. Have you ever visited it Professor Willsey? It is right off I-40 on old Route 66.
When I hiked Kilauea Iki with friends in 1999 we all went down into the eruptive vent itself, sat on the floor for a few minutes trying to more vividly imagine when it was fountaining +2000 feet in the air from right there beneath our feet...scary-thrilling! Besides olivine crystals did you also notice the pyroxene crystals as well? Not very large at this site, but numerous. However, if you were able to make your way to the rim of Haleakala on Maui, there you can find an abundance of thumb-sized pyroxene crystals, but no olivine! I have even heard others have found kimberlite (peridotite) xenoliths in some of Haleakala's, and the Big Island's basalt flows!
There are some USGS/NPS videos of the eruption, you should post some links to them to give an indication of the scale of the eruption. Here is one: ua-cam.com/video/hfSgcUvVGus/v-deo.html Here is another one, later in the eruption: ua-cam.com/video/qlmBMRRUMp4/v-deo.html PS: Have really enjoyed your videos since I came across them. Thanks.
Hello! For those interested or for those who have been to Kilauea iKE, there is actual video of this 1959 eruption as it took place. It was spectacular even on the old film I am going to link to at the end of this comment. The fountains are as Shawn described in the video above. This eruption had two phases, The one at Ike, and the one lower down on the flank of the volcano. Both were spectacular. Anyway, here is the link for those of you interested in watching this eruption as it took place. ua-cam.com/video/gGPC77Wvd70/v-deo.htmlsi=Yh0cITSdpMkb1Xlj
a lot of those blocks of rock that are incongruous to the rest of the flow are most likely blocks that where dislodged during the 2018 subsidence quakes.
Evidently no fear of Kilauea-Iki re-erupting anytime soon? Mighty close to the existing crater that is currently erupting, and the 2018 fissure is just down the road a bit.
Gas loss and cooling are the main reasons for the drop in the lava lake level. This can be several feet, even a few tens of feet. Same thing is happening right now in Halema'uma'u crater in Kilauea. www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates
You say the lava drained - there are bench marks where the lava level had been. Where did the lava drain to? Did the level become lower due to the cooling /contracting of the lava? The crater was 800 ft deep now with a lava fill to 400 ft deep with the bath ring seemingly 50 ft above the present lava level. The surface of the present lava is cracked as if it is/was hollow underneath, is it likely that the surface cooled/solidified before the lava below it. The lower lava cooling/contracting after the surface lava leaving hollow areas below the surface layer and so on down to some depth. 50 as a percentage of 800 is about 6.25%. 50 as a percentage of 400 is about 12.5%. The percentages do not give an accurate measure of the lava contraction. The crater is likely like a basin - concave. The surface area at 450 ft is greater than the surface area at 400 ft - where did the lava from the bench mark go to? Was there a way out of the crater? The lava humps near to the lava outlet formed due to the lava running down and pushing up/out the existing lava in the crater - it seems likely that the surface lava in the crater had cooled (semi solid) before the lava came down to it to push it up to form the humps. Why did the lava flowing down not go on to the top of the lava in the crater? Was the lava flowing down cooler/higher density (weight) than the lava in the crater?
The lava lake can "sink" or subside due to gas loss which tends to occur as eruption continues. This is actually happening right now in the Halema'uma'u crater in Kilauea. Plus as lava cools, it contracts and occupies less volume. My use of the word "drain" was probably not the best. Hope this helps a bit.
If you look at old films/videos of the earlier eruption, you can see that it filled an old caldera. Later, after the eruption ceased, it appears that some of the lava drained back down the main fissure. I posted some of the old film/video above, so you can see how it filled the old caldera.
Thanks Shawn, another amazing educational video. 298 like
I was 11 years old in 59. I probably saw this in news reels when I went to Saturday movies at the base theater then. For 25 cents admission we got newsreel, several cartoons and two movies. This week I'm watching cams of the eruption that just started in the active crater. I have noticed that the lava lake is not flat and completely smooth. This video gives me an idea how it may look in future when the crater is not active anymore. Near the beginning my quest for the larger denser rock was that it had fallen from the Craters edge. Through these videos I have seen so much I would have missed if I had gotten to go to Hawaii. My family would have gone to the top, let me look over the edge for a few minutes. Then it would ne OK let's go to the beach. I'm thrilled by being able to pause and repeat parts for a long look. With my current health I couldn't even make the trip to the airport. This is good for me to learn and see geology. Thank you!
I remember those old Newsreels too. This lava lake was huge on the big drive-in screen to my 9 year old mind. I see it impressed you as well Anne.
Also 10 years old in 1959 at the matinee double feature movies, cartoons and newsreel Hawaii volcano eruption..Its been quite the journey for all of us.
Thank you
Geo Prof w another excellent geo adventure. Thx kind Sir.✌🏻
I lived in Hawai'i when it erupted! My earliest memory is of the Kilauea Ski eruption....seeing the lava and being right there is probably one of the reasons I ended up becoming a geologis. Although I eventually settled on paleontology, I am still fascinated by volcanoes, and helped at Ashfall NE when it was first being developed, back in the 70's, which brought paleontology into direct contact with volcanoes. Can't get better than that! Thanks for your wonderful videos, I get to enjoy your field trips without trying to hike anymore....
In the early 80's my 1st wife and I hiked this memorable trail. An eruption had occured not too long prior to our visit and it was quite warm hiking the trail.
Yay! Geo-adventure time. Thx Prof. ✌🏻
Thanks! We’ve been enjoying your videos for some time now 👍
Thanks for your kind donation. Glad you are enjoying the content and my style.
Thanks for this wonderful video! I walked across the Kilauea Iki caldera in 1974 - as a 12 year old I found it to be a fascinating place. But it's even more amazing to understand how it formed during the 1959 eruption. Thanks for the guided tour!
Great video (as always)
Nothing like having a "Super Spidey Rock Sense". You should use it more often. Nice Video, explains a lot.
Thanks, Shawn, very interesting area! Your videos have made the Big Island more attractive than I ever imagined. 😄❤
Thanks again!
Thank you! Much appreciated.
Thanks!
Wow! Thanks for your kind donation in support of my channel.
Because I live here while watching this video I kept saying "Shawn, get back on the trail!" 😆 I figured you being a geologist with your students you were allowed to do that since you'd understand where you're walking. For the rest of you out there, the trails are your friend. The last time I walked in there was just after Halema'uma'u's lava lake started, somewhere in 2008.
Great stuff. Given what's going on at Kilauea right now, I'm curious: when was this video shot? (That would be generally useful info for all your videos actually.)
This was recorded on May 11, 2023. I usually put recording date when I upload the video but I am not sure where it is displayed on YT.
Thanks!
Calling it a lava lake is totally appropriate as I remember a Newsreel (remember those?) at the Drive-in showing the molten lake. So on the big screen it really imprinted itself on my mind at 9 years old. I can still see it in my Mind's Eye so to speak. I couldn't recollect if it was Kilauea or Mauna Loa, but now I know it was Kilauea.
This video reminds me of Lavic Lake, California a huge lava area from a single cinder cone called Pisgah Crater. Have you ever visited it Professor Willsey? It is right off I-40 on old Route 66.
Thanks for your kind donation. Yes, I’ve been to Pisgah and Amboy Crater in the Mojave. Very cool places. I’ll
be back down that way this fall.
When I hiked Kilauea Iki with friends in 1999 we all went down into the eruptive vent itself, sat on the floor for a few minutes trying to more vividly imagine when it was fountaining +2000 feet in the air from right there beneath our feet...scary-thrilling! Besides olivine crystals did you also notice the pyroxene crystals as well? Not very large at this site, but numerous. However, if you were able to make your way to the rim of Haleakala on Maui, there you can find an abundance of thumb-sized pyroxene crystals, but no olivine! I have even heard others have found kimberlite (peridotite) xenoliths in some of Haleakala's, and the Big Island's basalt flows!
I would not be surprised if the floor, being some meters below the bathtub ring, fell below the top due to the contraction as it cooled.
There are some USGS/NPS videos of the eruption, you should post some links to them to give an indication of the scale of the eruption.
Here is one: ua-cam.com/video/hfSgcUvVGus/v-deo.html
Here is another one, later in the eruption: ua-cam.com/video/qlmBMRRUMp4/v-deo.html
PS: Have really enjoyed your videos since I came across them. Thanks.
Hello! For those interested or for those who have been to Kilauea iKE, there is actual video of this 1959 eruption as it took place. It was spectacular even on the old film I am going to link to at the end of this comment. The fountains are as Shawn described in the video above. This eruption had two phases, The one at Ike, and the one lower down on the flank of the volcano. Both were spectacular. Anyway, here is the link for those of you interested in watching this eruption as it took place. ua-cam.com/video/gGPC77Wvd70/v-deo.htmlsi=Yh0cITSdpMkb1Xlj
Just found a lava tube on my land, need to go back with the proper equipment to explore.
My botanist wife has been wondering when you would acknowledge the plant life!
a lot of those blocks of rock that are incongruous to the rest of the flow are most likely blocks that where dislodged during the 2018 subsidence quakes.
Is it possible that the “bathtub ring” was left behind by a process of contraction as the lava cooled rather than drainage?
Is the rock on the floor of the crater hollow or solid? Is there any residual heat left from that eruption near the surface?
Solid and no
It did not drain, or did not substantially- it de-gassed and cooled. Both these processes lead to shrinking volume.
How long did it take for the lava lake to solidify completely?
About 35 years.
Evidently no fear of Kilauea-Iki re-erupting anytime soon? Mighty close to the existing crater that is currently erupting, and the 2018 fissure is just down the road a bit.
May erupt again at some point, but volcano has found or made other conduits at the summit and further down East Rift Zone in recent times.
How much would the lava have contracted as it cooled and solidified?
Gas loss and cooling are the main reasons for the drop in the lava lake level. This can be several feet, even a few tens of feet. Same thing is happening right now in Halema'uma'u crater in Kilauea. www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates
Where's the bridge Bowser throws his hammers from
You say the lava drained - there are bench marks where the lava level had been. Where did the lava drain to? Did the level become lower due to the cooling /contracting of the lava?
The crater was 800 ft deep now with a lava fill to 400 ft deep with the bath ring seemingly 50 ft above the present lava level. The surface of the present lava is cracked as if it is/was hollow underneath, is it likely that the surface cooled/solidified before the lava below it. The lower lava cooling/contracting after the surface lava leaving hollow areas below the surface layer and so on down to some depth.
50 as a percentage of 800 is about 6.25%. 50 as a percentage of 400 is about 12.5%. The percentages do not give an accurate measure of the lava contraction. The crater is likely like a basin - concave. The surface area at 450 ft is greater than the surface area at 400 ft - where did the lava from the bench mark go to? Was there a way out of the crater?
The lava humps near to the lava outlet formed due to the lava running down and pushing up/out the existing lava in the crater - it seems likely that the surface lava in the crater had cooled (semi solid) before the lava came down to it to push it up to form the humps. Why did the lava flowing down not go on to the top of the lava in the crater? Was the lava flowing down cooler/higher density (weight) than the lava in the crater?
The lava lake can "sink" or subside due to gas loss which tends to occur as eruption continues. This is actually happening right now in the Halema'uma'u crater in Kilauea. Plus as lava cools, it contracts and occupies less volume. My use of the word "drain" was probably not the best. Hope this helps a bit.
Read the June 8 9:39 AM Kilauea update for the similar comparison: www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates
If you look at old films/videos of the earlier eruption, you can see that it filled an old caldera. Later, after the eruption ceased, it appears that some of the lava drained back down the main fissure.
I posted some of the old film/video above, so you can see how it filled the old caldera.
Your geology spidie senses 😂😂😂
⬛🔶🌚🎑🥮