In 2005, the 44-acre collapse included 34 acres of bench plus 10 acres of former cliff. The hiker who hasn't been prepped with the "What's your plan?" question won't be saved by merely staying off the bench, on top of an older sea cliff. Underneath this shelf-like bench remains a jumble of geo-junk waiting for a geological excuse to destroy itself. The more-or-less paved look takes place only after enough rubble is deposited in the sea that continuing flows reaching the bench remain above water. When 2,200-degree lava hits water, it makes an enormous amount of steam that tears the flow apart, making sand and rocks underwater, not the neat equivalent of a new paving job. "There is so little detailed information offshore," he said. Even Kauahikaua doesn't know how steep the slope is. And one thing they don't know is how a bench is made.īenches are built on sloping, underwater ground. It's a way of getting them to think about what they don't know. "It's a difficult, long hike," taking as much as five hours for the round trip, Eli said.Ībout two miles beyond is the much smaller, four-acre East Ka'ili'ili bench.Įli asks anyone heading off into the still cooling desert of recent lava flows, "What's your plan?" But no more than a few dozen make the arduous, three-mile hike from the end of Chain of Craters Road to the big bench at East Lae'apuki. Up to 900 people per day visit the park coast, said park ranger Rob Eli. In April 1993, park visitor Prem Nagar disappeared when the small bench he stood on, just a half-acre, crumbled into the ocean. No one was injured in 2005, but collapses can be deadly. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory head Jim Kauahikaua said the bench could continue what it has done since it began rebuilding in 2005, cracking off just a few acres from time to time. 28, 2005, when 44 acres crumbled into the ocean over 4 1/2 hours. That happened in the largest previous collapse on Nov. This thin shelf of new land, known to geologists as a "bench" or "delta," is the largest piece of unstable ground ready to collapse into the ocean since current Kilauea eruptions began in 1983.īuilt on sloping volcanic rubble, the bench could go more or less at once. On the barren, wave-battered coast of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 55 acres of new lava land are poised to crumble into the sea with a roar. Newly formed volcanic land could collapse at any time "Collapse of massive lava shelf appears imminent I copied the story below, but you really want to follow the link because it's got some great aerial photos and a nice illustrated explanation of how a lava shelf gets formed. Interesting article for you Volcano buffs and soon to be visitors to VNP
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |