Exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Ko’oko’olau Crater

by Donald B. MacGowan

Ko'oko'olau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Graphic from 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.

Ko’oko’olau Crater

The edge of Ko'oko'olau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

This small, tree and fern-choked crater obviously has not been active for some time. Because the forest grows densely right up to the rim of the crater, it is dangerous to wander around it exploring unless strict attention is paid towards one’s footing—it is quite possible to literally step through the forest into thin air and crash painfully and unceremoniously to the bottom of the pit.

Note the small mound at the crater rim; this is the remnant of a spatter cone marking an old lava vent.  Take a good look at how overgrown this crater is.  Kilauea Iki was about this overgrown before the eruptions of 1959–a dramatic demonstration of the massive effect even small pit crater eruptions have on the local environment.

Not much view into Ko'oko'olau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

As an aside, the name Ko’oko’olau is the Hawai’ian name for the annoying little seed pods that cling to your socks and trousers—called “hitch-hikers” in modern pidgin—which abound in the Park and this region in particular.

Ko’oko’olau on pants, Ko'oko'olau Crater Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Still From Video by Frank Burgess

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.

All media copyright 2010 by Donald B. MacGowan. All rights reserved.

Dryland Jungle at Ko'oko'olau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Graphic from Photo by Donald B MacGowan