Exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Mauna Ulu, the Growing Mountain

by Donald B. MacGowan

Sunset lights-up Mauna Ulu, 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.

Mauna Ulu

Sunset and alpenglow at Mauna Ulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Mauna Ulu, or “growing mountain” is a still steaming, tall, shield-shaped hill formed by numerous eruptions along the rift between 1969 and 1974. Mauna Ulu is best seen by walking beyond the parking lot to where the end of road is covered in fresh lava flows. At Mauna Ulu, visitors can get an intimate look at both pahoehoe and a’a lava flow types.

Mauna Ulu Crater from the air, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Pahoehoe, the less viscous and generally hotter liquid flow, moves fluidly like a river or glacier, the surface folding and molding, like poured taffy, into a ropey structure. Pahoehoe forms generally flat, fairly smooth, hard surfaces. A’a, on the other hand, is much cooler and has exolved much of its dissolved gas, so it is much more viscous, causing the upper surface to fracture into clinker-like boulders and fragments. Flowing a’a sounds and looks like a moving pile of hot glass shards; when it cools, it leaves behind rubbly piles of sharp fragments. Fields of pahoehoe and a’a make a landscape that look as if Madame Pele has bulldozed her land to flat surfaces, but left these acres of boulder piles here and there.

Barren slopes of Mauna Ulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

The hike to the summit of Mauna Ulu is fabulous and rewarding. However, it is a long, dry, serious hike with some dangers (rock fall, crater collapse, scalding steam and others) and should only be undertaken by those in good physical condition and experienced at hiking cross-country across broken and hazardous ground.

Aerial view of Pu'u Huluhulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Pu’u Huluhulu (“shaggy hill”) is a 150 foot tall cinder cone formed in pre-contact times between Mauna Ulu and Pauahi Crater. There is a fascinating 3 mile round trip hike from the Mauna Ulu parking lot to the top of Pu’u Huluhulu that is marked by cairns (or “ahu”). The round trip hike from Mauna Ulu Parking lot to Pu’u Huluhulu and return takes about an hour and a half to two hours. From the vantage point of Pu’u Huluhulu’s summit are fine views of Mauna Loa, Kilauea, Mauna Kea, the coastline and the very interesting, active cinder cone, Pu’u O’o (hill of the bird”), about 5 miles away.

Aerial View of Pu'u O'o Vent, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Pu’u O’o was built by the fire-fountains erupting along Kilauea’s rift zone between 1983 and 1986. Since 1986, the center of eruption has moved about 2 miles further down the rift to a vent called “Kupaianaha”, or ”mysterious” in Hawai’ian. However, within the maw of Pu’u O’o is an active lava lake, which serves as a window into the plumbing of the eruptive rift system.

An a'a lava flow piled up on a pahoehoe flow in front of Pu'u Huluhulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: 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.

The rubble slopes of Mauna Ulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

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.

Ohi'a blossom and Mauna Ulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

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

Sunset and alpenglow at Mauna Ulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Graphic from Photo by Donald B MacGowan