by Donald B. MacGowan
The muted jungle light illuminates the lava trees at Lava Tree State Monument, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
The muted jungle light illuminates the lava trees at Lava Tree State Monument, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.
Lava Trees State Monument
The stately lava trees of Lava Tree State Monument, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
Under a fascinating, beautiful, lacy canopy of monkeypod trees, lava casts of ohi’a trees stand as monuments to a fast-moving pahoehoe lava flow that passed through here in 1790.
The jungle tree canopy filters and shades an eerie light at Lava Trees State Monument, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
Contained within the Nanawale Forest Reserve, south of Pahoa and just off Highway 132 between mile markers 2 and 3, Lava Trees State Monument is open free, daily from dawn to dusk. Hiking in the park is relaxing and interesting, showcasing the native Hawaiian plants and trees, the forest birds as well as the fascinating Lava Trees themselves
Looking into a tree mold at Lava Trees State Monument: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
The lava trees formed when the liquid lava, at about 2000° F, came in contact with the cool, wet ohi’a trees. A quickly-cooled coating of lava congealed around the trees and buried them to a depth of as much as 11 feet. The original trees burned away, but their hollow casts stand today, so perfectly molded inside that imprints of the tree bark remain. The rest of the flow passed on, perhaps draining away down the numerous cracks in this area that formed contemporaneously with the flows; one of the cracks which likely drained the lava away is still visible, just left of the restrooms.
This rift was both the delivery tube of the lava stream and the conduit down which it drained away after forming the lava trees at Lava Trees State Monument, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
Lava Trees Park offers trails to hike and a restful, bird-filled jungle to sit and listen to. You can spend between 20 minutes to an hour wandering the trails, here, exploring and discovering. Be careful, however, the area is riddled with hidden cracks in the ground which can make exploring hazardous.
A 0.7 mile trail winds through Lava Trees State Monument, connecting to other jungle hiking trails through the Pahoa area, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
Facilities include picnic tables and a barbecue, trails, drinking water and restrooms. You may wish to avail yourself of the restrooms at Lava Tree State Monument; no matter which direction you go after leaving the Park, they are the last public facilities for some distance.
Looking through the forest at two lava trees and the awesome crack through which the lava drained away: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
To see the new iPhone/iPod Touch App, please visit http://www.tourguidehawaii.com/iphone.html. The best of Tour Guide Hawaii’s free content about traveling to, and exploring, the Big island, can be found here. For more information on traveling to Hawaii in general and on touring the Big Island in particular, please also visit www.tourguidehawaii.com and www.tourguidehawaii.blogspot.com.
These standing monoliths are the casts of Ohi'a trees made by pahoehoe lava flowing through a forest in 1790; Lava Trees State Monument, Puna Hawaii: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
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This lava mold of an Ohi'a tree was made by fast-moving pahoehoe lava flow in 1790: Photo by Donald B. MacGowan
All media copyright 2009 by Donald B. MacGowan. All rights reserved.
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[…] to Kea’au and Highway 130 (food stop). Proceed to Pahoa and the junction to Highway 132 and Lava Trees State Park. Here trees were inundated with fast flowing lava. When the trees rotted, it left these Lava Trees. […]