Volcano | Page 9 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 3, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Collapse to Caldera

The Hawaiian Islands are volcanic in origin. Each island is made up of at least one primary volcano, although many islands are composites of more than one. The Big Island, for instance, is constructed of 5 major volcanoes: Kilauea, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, Hualālai and Kohala. Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on Earth.

Kilauea is presently one of the most productive volcanoes on Earth (in terms of how much lava it erupts each year). The primary volcanoes on each of the islands are known as a shield volcanoes, which are gently sloping mountains produced from a large number of generally very fluid lava flows. (SOEST)

To the casual observer, Kilauea appears to be part of the larger volcano Mauna Loa, but geological data indicates that it is a separate volcano with its own vent and conduit system. (livescience) When Kilauea began to form is not known, but various estimates are 300,000-600,000-years ago. (USGS)

Kilauea is a broad shield volcano built against the southeastern slope of Mauna Loa. The summit presently has a caldera that is roughly 2.5-miles by 2-miles wide, and walls nearly 400-feet. Another feature, known as Halemaʻumaʻu crater, lies within the main caldera (on the southwestern side.)

For the past century, Halemaʻumaʻu has been the principal site of activity at Kilauea’s summit. There has also been frequent activity along the Southeast rift zone (such as the presently active Puʻu ʻOʻo eruption, which started in 1983.)

While at nearby Mauna Loa eruptions tend to occur in pairs (i.e., a summit eruption followed by one on the flank), Kilauea’s pattern of summit versus flank activity appear to be more random. However, evidence of numerous flank eruptions occurring after a summit eruption can be found. (SOEST)

Sometimes, volcano summits form calderas. When an erupting volcano empties a shallow-level magma chamber, the edifice of the volcano may collapse into the voided reservoir, thus forming a steep, bowl-shaped depression called a caldera (Spanish for kettle or cauldron.)

The summit regions of many active shield volcanoes are marked by calderas. Hawaiian examples include the Mokuaweoweo caldera on Mauna Loa and the Kilauea caldera on Kilauea. (sdsu-edu)

So, when and how was the Kīlauea Caldera formed?

The modern caldera at Kilauea collapsed in about 1470-1500 AD, as recognized by geologic field work and C-14 radiocarbon dating. Two lines of geologic evidence indicate it was very deep soon after it formed, as is also suggested by Hawaiian oral tradition.

Scientists suggest at least a couple possibilities exist for the collapse. One is that the magma reservoir emptied rapidly without erupting; the other possibility is that magma withdrawal was prolonged, not rapid, in response to slow eruption of the ʻAilāʻau lava flow (the largest in Hawaiʻi in more than 1000 years.)

The flow erupted on the east side of Kilauea’s summit during a ca. 60-yr period ending in about 1470. It has typical tube-fed formation, consistent with slow eruption. The eruption just predates the caldera – its shield is cut by the outermost caldera fault – and in fact could have ended when the caldera formed. (Swanson)

Geologic evidence indicates that the caldera appeared in about AD 1500, give or take several decades. It developed at the end of, or soon after, a 60-year-long eruption from the ʻAilāʻau shield just east of Kilauea Iki, flooding much of Puna with lava flows. The caldera formed at the start of, or shortly before, a series of explosions that radiocarbon ages date to about AD 1500. (USGS)

However, most geologic models assume very rapid removal of material to form a caldera. The argument is that a large void cannot support itself underground, so an empty volume of a few cubic miles could not exist for long. If so, a huge volume of magma must have almost instantaneously left the reservoir under Kilauea’s summit, leaving a void into which the summit fell.

Both geologic and cultural evidence should exist for such a major volcanic event. Indeed, the events are likely chronicled in the Pele-Hiʻiaka chants. But neither cultural nor geologic evidence tells us where the rocks disappeared when the top of the volcano sunk to form the caldera.

How much material was removed? The volume is uncertain but very large. If the entire caldera formed at one time, scientists estimate a volume of 1.4 cubic miles, equivalent to 780-million loads for a 10-cubic-yard dump truck. That estimate is based on the caldera’s dimensions when first surveyed in the 1820s and on guesses as to how much deeper it might have been. (USGS)

Historical eruptions at Kilauea volcano have occurred from both the summit caldera and from vents along the East Rift Zone. The historical record began with a very explosive eruption in 1790.

After this, the volcano was almost continuously active, mostly showing gentle effusion from a lava lake at the summit until 1924, when it again erupted explosively. The period 1924 to 1955 saw mostly short-duration summit eruptions.

From 1955 to the present Kilauea has seen mostly East Rift Zone activity interspersed with small summit eruptions. Two notable rift eruptions were Mauna Ulu (1969-1974) and Puʻu ʻOʻo (1983-present). Kilauea’s Eruption rate diminished steadily over the first half of the historic period but has been increasing again since 1924. (SOEST)

Since the Puʻu ʻOʻo eruption started on January 3, 1983, the southern part of the caldera has been sinking 2.5-4 inches/year. (USGS)

Currently there are 3 Hawaiian volcanoes that we can be classified as active: Kilauea, actively erupting since 1983; Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984 and is building for a new eruption in the next few years; and Loihi, which erupted in 1996.

All three of these active Hawaiian volcanoes share the Hawaiian hot spot, but retain unique volcanic histories and compositions.

The most likely dormant volcanoes are: Hualālai, which last erupted in 1801; Haleakalā, which last erupted in about 1790; and Mauna Kea, which last erupted about 4,000-years ago. (SOEST)

Due to the ongoing eruption, portions of the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park are periodically closed, due the hazardous and unsafe conditions; check conditions and area closures before venturing.

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Kilauea-Byron-1825

Kilauea_Summit-Klemetti

Kilauea-WanderingScot

Kilauea’s summit caldera-Dzurisin-1980

Kilauea-NASA

Kilauea-Kilauea_Iki-Bosick

Kilauea-East Rift Zone-Griggs-1985

‎Kilauea-Caldera-Kauahikaua-1997

Kilauea_Overlook-NPS – Ed Shiinoki

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Kilauea

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Hawaii-Volcanoes-Kilauea-NPS-map

Overlook at Jaggar Museum-Shiinoki

Age and Distribution of Lava Flows in Kilauea-USGS

Simplified cutaway view (not to scale) of Kilauea Volcano-Johnson

Ailaau Flow-Kīlauea summit overflows-their ages and distribution in the Puna District, Hawai’i-Clague-map

Ailaau_lava_flow-map-USGS

June 30, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Thomas Augustus Jaggar, Jr

“To helpmeet and campmate, Isabel Jaggar,
Whose horse crushed her against a tree …
Whose gloves fell into a red hot crack and burned up …
Who slept in a lava tunnel …
Beside the immortal remains of a desiccated billy goat …
And loved it all.”
(Thomas Jaggar dedication of book in 1945, USGS)

“In 1906, already a much-published, respected, well-known geologist, writer and lecturer, he became head of MIT’s department of geology. Jaggar saw the need for full-time, on-site study of volcanoes.”

“He had long deplored that to date, especially in America, it was only after news of an eruption was received that geologists rushed from academic centers to study volcanism.”

“There was generally no trained observer there beforehand, and scientists from afar often arrived after the eruption was over. There was then only one volcano observatory in the world, that at Vesuvius established in 1847.” (USGS)

In February 1912, prisoners, sentenced to a term of hard labor, started digging a cellar on the north rim of Kilauea Crater. The prisoners dug through almost 6-feet of volcanic ash and pumice to a layer of thick pāhoehoe lava, a firm base for the concrete piers on which seismometers would be anchored.

This was the result of “a visit to the Volcano of Kilauea on October 7th, 1909 … by the very distinguished English vulcanologist Dr. Tempest Anderson of York, and the well-known professors in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, TA Jaggar, Jr, and RA Daly, the last two interested in the establishment of a permanent observatory at Kilauea”. (Brigham)

Jaggar had traveled to the Islands at his own expense. He left MIT, moved to Kilauea to start the observatory, and devoted the remainder of his life to a study of volcanoes. He also had a home in Keopuka, South Kona.

Jaggar was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1871, the son of an Episcopal Bishop. A childhood fascination with the natural world eventually translated into three geology degrees from Harvard (AB, AM and PhD (1897.)) He studied in Munich and Heidelberg, and then began teaching at Harvard, later at MIT.

His years as a graduate student and young professor were spent in the laboratory. He felt strongly that experimentation was the key to understanding earth science. Jaggar constructed water flumes bedded by sand and gravel in order to understand stream erosion and melted rocks in furnaces to study the behavior of magmas. (USGS)

Jaggar witnessed the deadly aftermath of volcanic and seismic activity during a decade-long exploration of volcanoes around the world.

The devastation he observed, particularly that caused by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on the Caribbean Island of Martinique, led Jaggar to his vision and life-long work to “protect life and property on the basis of sound scientific achievement” by establishing Earth observatories throughout the world. (USGS)

When he came to the Islands, he joined the efforts of George Lycurgus (operator of the Volcano House) and newspaperman Lorrin Andrews Thurston who were working to have the Mauna Loa and Kilauea Volcanoes area made into a National Park.

Jaggar had tried to lead several expeditions to the top of Mauna Loa in 1914 but was unsuccessful due to the elevation (13,678 feet) and the harsh conditions: rough lava, violent winds, noxious fumes, shifting weather, extreme temperatures and a lack of shelter, water and food. (Takara)

About this time, about 800 Buffalo Soldiers from the 25th Regiment had been assigned to garrison duty at Schofield Barracks. Given their experience in Parks on the continent, some of the soldiers were called upon to assist at the volcanoes on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

In September 1915, Jaggar, Thurston and a US Army representative conducted a survey to determine a route for a trail up Mauna Loa.

The following month, a local paper noted, “Soldiers Building Mountain Trail. Negro soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry to the number of 150 are at work constructing a trail from near the Volcano House to the summit of Mauna Loa. It is estimated that three or four weeks will be devoted to this work. The soldiers are doing the work as a part of their vacation exercises.” (Maui News, October 29, 1915)

The Buffalo Soldiers built the 18-mile trail to the summit of Mauna Loa. They also built the ten-man Red Hill Cabin and a twelve-horse stable, so scientists could spend extended periods of time studying the volcano.

Although Jaggar had married Helen Kline in 1903 and the couple had two children, Helen did not accompany Jaggar to accept his post as director of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1911, and a divorce followed (filed in 1914.)

In 1917, Jaggar married a coworker at the volcano observatory, Isabel P. Maydwell; she was his wife, assistant and companion for the rest of his life. (USGS)

On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the country’s 13th National Park into existence – Hawaiʻi National Park. At first, the park consisted of only the summits of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa on Hawaiʻi and Haleakalā on Maui.

Eventually, Kilauea Caldera was added to the park, followed by the forests of Mauna Loa, the Kaʻū Desert, the rain forest of Olaʻa and the Kalapana archaeological area of the Puna/Kaʻū Historic District.

The National Park Service, within the federal Department of Interior, was created on August 25, 1916 by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act.

In 1916, Thurston, recognizing the long tradition of soldiers and sailors who had visited the area, proposed the establishment of a military camp at Kīlauea. Thurston promoted his idea and was able to raise enough funds through public subscription for the construction of buildings and other improvements. By the fall of 1916, the first group of soldiers arrived at Kīlauea Military Camp (KMC.) (NPS)

Later, in the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built research offices, hiking trails and laid the foundations for much of the infrastructure and roads within the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes and other parks across the country.

On, July 1, 1961, Hawaiʻi National Park’s units were separated and re-designated as Haleakalā National Park and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Throughout his career, Jaggar pursued his goal of mitigating the negative impacts of natural hazards on humans through the continuous study of volcanoes and earthquakes, both in Hawaiʻi and around the world.

He retired in 1940 and moved to Honolulu. After leaving, Jaggar continued his research at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa until his death on January 17, 1953, 41-years after beginning his work on Kilauea. (USGS)

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Thomas Jaggar (second from left) L2R Norton Twigg-Smith, Thomas Jaggar, Lorrin Thurston, Joe Monez, and Alex Lancaster-(USGS)-1916

Volcano_House_1904

Red_Hill_Cabin-(NPS)-1935

Kilauea Military Camp-(NPS)-1923

Jaggar_Museum

May 11, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Boles Field

On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the country’s 13th national park into existence – Hawaiʻi National Park. At first, the park consisted of only the summits of Kilauea and Mauna Loa on Hawaiʻi and Haleakalā on Maui.

Eventually, Kilauea Caldera was added to the park, followed by the forests of Mauna Loa, the Kaʻu Desert, the rain forest of Olaʻa and the Kalapana archaeological area of the Puna/Kaʻu Historic District. (On, July 1, 1961, Hawaiʻi National Park’s units were separated and re-designated as Haleakala National Park and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.)

On-the-ground administration of the park began with the arrival of Superintendent Thomas R Boles in April 1922. Boles’ designation was made effective two months before he entered on duty.

Born in Yell County, Arkansas, he was the son of Judge Thomas and Catherine (Keith) Boles (his father voted in favor of the establishment of the world’s first national park, Yellowstone, back in 1872.)

Boles was educated in the grammar and high schools of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and took a civil engineering course at the School of Mines, University of Missouri.

For a few years, Boles was involved in various construction and engineering endeavors, as construction engineer for the Illinois Steel Bridge Co, in Arkansas and Oklahoma; assistant field engineer, Interstate Commerce Commission; chief engineer, Fort Smith Light & Traction Co., and chief engineer, Fort Smith & Western Railroad Co. (Nellist)

Boles arrived in Hawaiʻi in March, 1922; he became the first superintendent of the Hawaiʻi National Park, appointed to the position by the Secretary of the Interior. He has jurisdiction over a total area of 118,000 acres of the volcanic area of the Territory.

At the same time the Park was created (1916,) the military opened a rest and recreation Camp within the Park boundaries – the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC.)

KMC was the military’s rest and recreation facility on the Island of Hawaiʻi; it was situated on about 50-acres within the Park boundaries.

A military landing field was constructed on volcanic sand at the area called Sand Spit Horst, located just south of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. It was referred to as Kilauea Airfield.

However, shortly after completion, on the morning of May 11, 1924, a ranger from Hawaiʻi National Park noticed several hot boulders on the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu. Evidently, a small explosion had occurred in the pit overnight.

The park superintendent, Thomas Boles, put up roadblocks a half a mile from the crater and ventured out to investigate with two other observers.

Boles was within 10 feet of rim when he heard a “thud” followed by a “prolonged whooosh.” Thousands of red-hot boulders shot up amidst a fury of black ash. The ash column rose 3,000-feet above the crater.

Fortunately, all three made it back to their vehicle, sustaining only a few cuts and bruises. They found that a boulder weighing nearly 100-pounds had sailed over the vehicle during the explosion, landing more than 2,000 feet from the crater.

They pushed the roadblocks back 2-miles from the crater.

Similar events followed; the largest occurred on May 18. The dark, mushrooming column “loomed up like a menacing genie from the Arabian Nights.” Static electricity generated between ash particles produced streaks of blue lightning and condensed steam mixed with the ash to create a rainstorm of gray mud. (Boles; NPS)

Truman Taylor, a young accountant from Pahala sugar plantation had slipped past the road blocks set up by the Superintendent and was within 2,000-feet of the rim (near today’s Halemaʻumaʻu parking lot) when the explosion occurred.

He was hit by a boulder and severely burnt by the falling ash. Rescuers hurried in to the caldera when the explosion ended some 20 minutes later, but the unfortunate man died on the way to the hospital.

Scientists estimate that approximately 400 million cubic meters (520-million cubic yards) of magma shuttled down the east rift zone conduit in 1924. That’s enough magma to fill 265,000 Olympic swimming pools. (USGS)

A news article in March 1925 reported that a New Army field was under construction on the bluff between Uwekahuna and KMC (Hilo Tribune-Herald 1925.) The new field was named Boles Field after the park superintendent, Thomas R Boles.

Although originally anticipated to be in a much more desirable location than the original Spit Horst field, it was almost immediately found to be dangerously short, and was evaluated in a report on landing fields on the island of Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Department 1925:)

“I ‘shot’ the field and found the wind currents so treacherous and uncertain that it was next to impossible to land short without a good chance of being dashed to the ground prematurely. Personally, I would rather trust my parachute than use this field.”

The location of this second field has been variously identified as “outside Kilauea Crater about one half mile North-East of Uwekahuna toward KMC, close to the belt road” and “west of the great Kilauea Crater” (Hilo Tribune-Herald 1925.) (NPS)

The field remained in use for fifteen years primarily for recreational purposes. As part of its war planning, the military surveyed several sites on Hawaiʻi as possible airfields and emergency landing strips. The optimum site was Keauhou, though cost ultimately prevented its development.

Other fields, notably Morse Field at Ka Lae (South Point,) became the primary airfields for the military in Hawai‘i. The military and NPS approved the existing airfield at Kīlauea for emergency use, but the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cautioned that it was unsafe for military aircraft.

In 1941, following the Pearl Harbor attack, Civilian Conservation Corps workers assisted the military in plowing and obstructing the single field to render it unusable by the enemy.

Nearly two years later, in December 1943, the Army leveled the field again to use as a training site for spotter planes employed in exercises at the Kaʻū Desert Training and Impact Area.

The Park Service indicated in August 1945 that airfield were incompatible with NPS policy; in 1946, the CAA concluded there was no need for an airfield in the park, a policy later reinforced by legislation. (Chapman) (Boles retired from the National Park Service in 1951.)

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Thomas R Boles

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Kilauea Military Camp, 1936-Chapman

Kilauea Military Camp-(NPS)-1923

Kilauea Airfield-1923-Chapman

Halemaumau-Eruption-1924

8-10 ton boulder-formed an impact crater in the aviation strip. View looks away from Halemaumau-sent May 18, 1924

March 23, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hilo Hotel

“It is asserted by many that Hilo is the most beautiful city in the Islands. … Situated on its magnificent crescent-shaped bay amid dense dark-green foliage, it extends its welcome to all and opens its portals to the historic and romantic interest of the Big Island.”

“Of course, no visitor to the Hawaiian Islands fails to see the great volcano Kilauea.” (Musick; Ludington Daily News, March 12, 1896)

“… it does seem a pity to be so close to it and fail to explore its wonders. … It matters little whether or not the volcano is active during our visit, but, of course, we hope it will be.” (When you Go To Hawaiʻi, 1930)

But you needed ways to get there …

“There have been two meetings of the people to discuss the Volcano road and there is a general desire to have it made. Tourists will find it more pleasant to go to the Volcano by way of Hilo … as the road from Hilo to the Volcano will be through the woods mostly, the ride will be enchanting.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, August 20, 1888)

By 1890, “the Legislature having appropriated a definite sum of money for the Volcano road;” the “public work” road was under construction. However, the funding was not enough and prison labor was later used to construct the road. (Hawaiian Gazette, July 15, 1890)

“The year 1894 witnessed the completion of the volcano road which was begun in 1889. … it affords a fine carriage drive the entire distance of thirty miles. Regular stages now run between Hilo and the Volcano House every other day.” (Thrum)

But, before the ride on the road, you needed to get to the Island …

Before interisland air travel, competitors Wilder Steamship Co (1872) and Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co (1883) were the way to go. Wilder took you straight to Hilo; Interisland took a southern route around the Island to Punaluʻu. From there, folks rode a railroad to Pahala and then coaches hauled the visitors to the volcano from the Kaʻū side.

And they came … But you also needed a place to stay …

“In former times Hilo, like many of the country towns, lacked a hotel where travelers can stay and feel at home. In this respect the village is now well supplied by the ‘Hilo Hotel,’ kept by Joseph Vierra, formerly of the ‘White House’ in Honolulu. Here are now ample accommodations for travelers on the principal street, and in the center of the village.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 1, 1891)

But Hilo hotel accommodations didn’t seem to have the same happy history as the road construction or interisland steamers bringing people to see the Volcano (or other reasons to come to Hilo.)

“Every now and then an attempt at running something like a regular hotel would be made by some enterprising resident, but heretofore these experiments have not resulted in any marked success, for what reason it is not the purpose of this article to inquire. All that our readers will care to know is whether Hilo has a good hotel now, and whether if it has the boon is likely to be perpetuated.” (Evening Bulletin, May 21, 1896)

“Old Hotel Will Soon Be Replaced … The need of a new building for a hotel in Hilo has been felt by every tourist visiting the place. The present hostelry has been standing for many years, and was limited as to rooms, and void of conveniences. The place has been a nightmare to the people of Hilo, for the reason that it had a tendency to drive people away, while the new one will be inviting.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 26, 1897)

“One of the problems that confront Hilo in view of the increase in travel, which promises to further increase, is adequate hotel accommodations for visitors. The Hilo Hotel under its present management has become so popular a place to live that many rooms and cottages formerly available for transients are now occupied by Hilo people”. (Hilo Tribune, January 24, 1902)

And more came … “With the appearance of the steamer Enterprise, which will make regular voyages between this port and San Francisco, the number of strangers within the gates of Hilo at all times will be larger than heretofore. Perhaps a dozen more cottages will be required to accommodate visitors when steamers arrive, especially when the boats from Frisco and Honolulu arrive simultaneously.” (Hilo Tribune, January 24, 1902)

“One of the burdens falling upon owners of hotels in a city which is just starting out as an attraction for the traveller, is that of maintaining their plant at a standard several notches above the immediate demands of the trade.”

“The owners of the Hilo Hotel have been doing this and they should have more credit perhaps than is accorded them. It is they who put a good front before the weary voyager who must always arrive in Hilo after a forty round bout with Father Neptune.” (Hilo Tribune, January 24, 1902)

“The well-known progressive character of the men who own the Hilo Hotel is a guarantee that they will consider all matters which bear upon the future welfare of Hilo. Any minute that they feel conditions warrant it, they will make annex and annex to the Hotel until it becomes as large as the Moana, if necessary.” (Hilo Tribune, January 24, 1902)

But, things changed for the Hilo Hotel … “The Volcano House is ‘getting off on the right foot.’ Even Madam Pele is waking up to the fact and is starting in on at least a benefit performance. There is a gray side to this bright picture, however. The Hilo Hotel is closed. It has been converted into a chapel.” (Hilo Tribune, March 6, 1903)

“The need of a hotel at Hilo is more acute since new life has been injected into the hotel at the Volcano. The same push and energy would make the Hilo Hotel a popular and paying proposition.” (Hilo Tribune, March 6, 1903)

Things turned to a bright side, again, when George Lycurgus and his nephew (Demosthenes Lycurgus) bought and reopened the Hilo Hotel … “Tourists will no longer complain of the lack of hotel accommodations in Hilo …” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 29, 1909)

“The building was constructed about eleven years ago after the original Hilo Hotel, presided over by Joseph Vierra, proved too small for the accommodation of the people who visited Hilo.”

The replacement structure was “a two-story building with a row of cottages on either side of the lot. Even with the additional rooms supplied by the new structure there were not enough to meet the demands of the people who happened along on the steamer which arrived once in ten days.”

“The cottages were so inviting to the local people that they were preempted and many of the best rooms in the main building were taken by Hiloites so that it was not long before there was the old complaint of no rooms for tourists.”

“For several years the cottages only have been in use. They were found desirable by residents who were satisfied with smaller quarters than a dwelling and were quick to take advantage of the opportunity to secure a suitable place convenient to business. While a first-class cuisine will be the rule at the Hilo Hotel, Mr. Lycurgus will probably continue to maintain his town café, for the accommodation of the public.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 29, 1909)

By 1911, there were two hotels in Hilo, the Hilo Hotel and the Demosthenes (both under Lycurgus.) In addition, Lycurgus (Uncle George) owned the Volcano House. (Mid Pacific Magazine, Encyclopedia, 1911)

At the age of 81, Lycurgus traveled to Washington, DC to have the construction of the new park headquarters building farther back from the lip of the crater.

That allowed him, in 1941, to build a more modern hotel at the former Hawaiian Volcano Observatory site. He reopened the new Volcano House (designed by notable architect Charles William Dickey.)

After another eruption in 1952, at the age of 93, he arranged a publicity stunt involving riding a horse to the rim of the erupting vent and tossing in his ceremonial bottle of gin. (The offering of gin became a regular at Volcano after that.) Uncle George died in 1960 at the age of 101.

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New Hilo Hotel-Front-PCA-Feb_26,_1897

New Hilo Hotel-Side-PCA-Feb_26,_1897

A_Road_To_The-Volcano-(Mid-PacificMagazine)-1913

Road (new) to volcano-(HHS-6032)

Volcano_House-(LOC)-1902

Volcano House, Kīlauea, Hawai‘i-(HHS-6018)-early 1890s

Early_Inter_Island_Routes

SS Waialeale

November 13, 2014 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Puna

Prior to Western contact, each of the major islands or independent chiefdoms in the Hawaiian chain comprised a mokupuni (island.) Over the centuries, as the ancient Hawaiian population grew, land use and resource management also evolved.

Each island was divided into several moku or districts, of which there are six in the island of Hawaiʻi, and the same number in Oʻahu. There is a district called Kona on the lee side and one called Koʻolau on the windward side of almost every island. (Alexander) Another moku (common on a couple mokupuni) is Puna (“well-spring”) – this summary is about Puna on Hawaiʻi Island.

Puna was once known for its groves of hala and ʻōhiʻa-lehua trees. Hawaiians observed, “Ka ua moaniani lehua o Puna / The rain that brings the fragrance of the lehua of Puna”.

This ʻōlelo noʻeau refers to the forests of Puna, which attract clouds to drench the district with many rains, refreshing and enriching the Puna water table, and sustaining the life cycle of all living things in Puna.

While the Puna district does not have running streams, it does have many inland and shoreline springs continuously fed by rains borne upon the northeast tradewinds. (McGregor)

In Nā Mele o Hawaiʻi Nei, the reference “Puna paia ʻala i ka paia ʻala i ka hala,” is translated as “Puna of the fragrant bowers, fragrant with the blossoms of the hala” (pandanus.) (King, 1938)

According to Pukui, in the olden days, people would stick branches of hala into the thatching of their houses to bring some of the fragrance indoors.

“Puna on Hawaiʻi Island was the land first reached by Pāʻao, and here in Puna he built his first heiau for his god Ahaʻula and named it Ahaʻula (Wahaʻula.) It was a luakini (large heiau where human sacrifice was offered.) From Puna, Pāʻao went on to land in Kohala, at Puʻuepa. He built a heiau there, called Moʻokini.” (Kamakau; McGregor)

According to Kamakau, the Island of Hawaiʻi was without a chief when Pāʻao arrived in Hawaiʻi in the eleventh century. Evidently the chiefs of Hawaiʻi were considered aliʻi makaʻāinana (commoner chiefs) or just commoners, makaʻāinana, during this time.

Pāʻao sent back to Tahiti for a new ruler for Hawaiʻi, thereby ushering in a new era of ruling chiefs and kāhuna for the Hawaiian archipelago. The new ruler was Pili-kaʻaiea, from whom King Kamehameha I eventually descended. (McGregor)

One story tells that Hāʻena, a small bay near the northern boundary of Puna, is said to be the birthplace of hula. The goddess Hiʻiaka is said to have been instructed to dance hula on the beach there. Puna is said to inspire hula because of the natural movements of waves, wind and trees. (Other stories suggest hula was started in other areas of the Islands.)

Early settlement patterns in the Islands put people on the windward sides of the islands, typically along the shoreline. However, in Puna, much of the district’s coastal areas have thin soils and there are no good deep water harbors. The ocean along the Puna coast is often rough and windblown.

As a result, settlement patterns in Puna tend to be dispersed and without major population centers. Villages in Puna tended to be spread out over larger areas and often are inland, and away from the coast, where the soil is better for agriculture. (Escott)

This was confirmed on William Ellis’ travel around the island in the early 1800s, “Hitherto we had travelled close to the sea-shore, in order to visit the most populous villages in the districts through which we had passed. But here receiving information that we should find more inhabitants a few miles inland, than nearer the sea, we thought it best to direct our course towards the mountains.” (Ellis, 1826)

Alexander later (1891) noted, “The first settlement met with after leaving Hilo by the sea coast road, is at Keaau, a distant 10 miles where there are less than a dozen inhabitants; the next is at Makuʻu, distant 14 miles where there are a few more, after which there is occasionally a stray hut or two, until Halepuaʻa and Koaʻe are reached, 21 miles from Hilo, at which place there is quite a village”.

“Nearly all the food consumed by the residents of this District is raised in the interior belt to which access is had by the ancient paths or trails leading from the sea coast. The finest sweet potatoes are raised in places that look more like banks of cobble stones or piles of macadam freshly dumped varying from the size of a walnut to those as large as ones fist. In these holes there is not a particle of soil to be seen”. (Alexander; Rechtman)

Puna was famous as a district for some of its valuable products, including “hogs, gray tapa cloth (‘eleuli), tapas made of mamaki bark, fine mats made of young pandanus blossoms (‘ahuhinalo,) mats made of young pandanus leaves (ʻahuao,) and feathers of the ʻoʻo and mamo birds”. (Kamakau; McGregor)

An historic trail once ran from the modern day Lili‘uokalani Gardens area to Hāʻena along the Puna coast. The trail is often referred to as the old Puna Trail and/or Puna Road. There is an historic trail/cart road that is also called the Puna Trail (Ala Hele Puna) and/or the Old Government Road.

It likely incorporated segments of the traditional Hawaiian trail system often referred to as the ala loa or ala hele. The full length of the Puna Trail, or Old Government Road, might have been constructed or improved just before 1840. The alignment was mapped by the Wilkes Expedition of 1804-41. (Escott)

With Western contact, extensive tracts of Puna’s landscape were transformed, first with sandalwood export began in 1790, reaching its peak between 1810 and 1825.

After Hawai‘i’s first forestry law in 1839 restricted the removal of sandalwood trees, cattle ranching and coffee cultivation became the leading commercial activities. By 1850, agriculture diversified with the cultivation of potatoes, onions, pumpkins, oranges and molasses.

Before 1900, coffee was the chief agricultural crop in the area. Over 6,000-acres of coffee trees were owned by approximately 200-independent coffee planters and 6 incorporated companies.

Soon, sugarcane was in large-scale production. The dominant operation in Puna was the Puna Sugar Company, whose plantation fields extended for ten miles along both sides of Highway 11 between Keaʻau and Mountain View, as well as in the Pāhoa and Kapoho areas.

Initially founded in 1899 as Olaʻa Sugar Company, it was later (1960) renamed Puna Sugar Company. The coffee trees were uprooted to make way for sugarcane. ʻŌhiʻa forests also had to be cleared, field rock piled, land plowed by mules or dug up by hand with a pick. Sugarcane was in large-scale production; the sugar mill operation ran for just over 80 years, until 1984.

Macadamia nuts and papaya were introduced in 1881 and 1919, respectively. Since the closure of the Puna Sugar Company, papaya and macadamia nut production have become the leading crops of Puna. About 97% of the state’s papaya production occurs in Puna, primarily in the Kapoho area.

Another thing growing in Puna is housing. Between 1958 and 1973, more than 52,500-individual lots were created. There are at least over 40-Puna subdivisions.

As a comparison, Oʻahu is about 382,500-acres in size; the district of Puna on the island of Hawaiʻi is about 320,000-acres in size – almost same-same.

According to the 2010 census, Oʻahu has about 955,000-people and Puna has about 45,500. That means there are less than a half-acre per person on Oʻahu and over 70-acres per person in Puna.

However, in Puna, they plotted out the subdivisions in cookie-cutter residential/agricultural lots across a grid, with very little space for other uses (such as parks, open space, government services, regional roads … the list goes on and on.)

Likewise, most subdivision lots are accessed by private, unpaved roads. The streets generally lack sidewalks and lighting, and do not meet current County standards in terms of pavement width, vertical geometrics, drainage and other design parameters.

There are only two main roads to move the people in the district in and out – one (Route 130 – Keaau-Pahoa Road) goes into Pahoa to Kalapana; the other (Route 11 – Volcano Highway) serves the lots up in the Volcano area. (Lots of information here from the Puna Community Development Plan.)

I was saddened when the news broadcast the first house lost to the ongoing lava flow – a home of a friend and former student from Parker School.

I have been debating about posting on Puna – but decided that as the lava flows there, we should reflect on its history, but also be sensitive to and respectful of the trauma facing many of the families there – they are going through situations many of us will never have to face.

The image shows the Wilkes 1840-1841 map of Puna. In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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