The view of stream rising from where the lava flows into the
ocean from chain of craters road. We're about 8 miles away at
this point (in a car).In January of 1999 a friend and I hiked three miles over a fresh lava field to watch the sunset where lava flows into the ocean. We then hiked back by moonlight and flashlight. This walk is rigorous and hot and has real danger if you don't know what you're doing. Be sure you're prepared and talk to the rangers before you go!
For more information about Hawaii's volcanoes, see the US Geological survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory site.
The view of stream rising from where the lava flows into the
ocean from chain of craters road. We're about 8 miles away at
this point (in a car).
The lava flows from Pu'u 'O'o crater beyond the far ridge, which
has been erupting since 1983. The lava now flows almost entirely
underground down the black paths in the distance in lava tubes to
the ocean.
Examples of the kind of crunchy and sharp terrain we had to walk
across for three miles to get to where the lava flows into the
sea. We then hiked back by moonlight and flashlight, which was
easier than I expected.
The view of the steam plumes as we approached the lava flow. The
signs show the limits of safety. Things were quiet so we went a
little (but not much) beyond the signs.
Explosions occur when the ocean waves enter the lava tubes. This
picture is from about 200 ft. away. If you look closely you can
see the red glow of the rocks thrown up by the explosion.
We took a chance (very dangerous!) and circled around to the edge
to get a look at a smaller, gentler flow off to the side. We were
rewarded by this view from about 100 ft. The close-up shot is
with my 200mm zoom lens. We did not stay there long as people had
recently died when lava shelves much like the one we were
standing on collapsed into the sea. A great honor to see glowing,
flowing lava.