Kīlauea (Halemaʻumaʻu)

Meaning

As night falls a red glow rises from the crater floor, and heat lifts on the steam to touch your face. The black lava underfoot is cooled, hardened ground; what shines below is land being made this very moment — you stand before Pele's hearth.

The summit crater Halemaʻumaʻu of the active volcano Kīlauea, on the island of Hawaiʻi, is held in Hawaiian tradition to be the home of Pele, the goddess of fire. Here lava rises and hardens, making the island's land anew, and Hawaiians still honor Pele with hula, chant (mele), and offerings. It lies within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Field notes

Location

Hawaiʻi Island · United States · N19.4° · W155.3°

Best time

Dusk and night, when the crater's glow shows (depending on volcanic activity)

Getting there

From Hilo on the island of Hawaiʻi, enter Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to reach the crater overlooks.

Etiquette

A sacred place of Pele; do not take stones or lava, respect offerings, and observe closures set by volcanic activity.

Sources

• · U.S. National Park Service
• · Encyclopaedia Britannica

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