Halemaumau Crater

Halemaumau ( [ halemaʔumaʔu ], also Halema'uma'u ) is a crater on the floor of the caldera of Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the largest Hawaiian Island Big Iceland.

Name and myths

The name is derived from the word for house ( hale ) and the Hawaiian name of Sadleria - fern ( āmaumau ), meaning fern house.

In the Hawaiian religion of Halemaumau is regarded as the seat of the volcano goddess Pele and her most holy.

The lava lake

By 1924 was in Halemaumau an active lava lake, but cooled front of a large outbreak of Kīlauea.

After 84 years, the cooled lava broke out again, since a small eruption in March 2008, the lava lake is active again. ( see also Webcams ). The lava lake forms the bottom of the cylindrical Halemaumau crater with almost vertical walls, the latter are in turn embedded in the floor of Kīlauea caldera. The depth of the Halemaumau crater fluctuated in recent years between 60 m to 150 m, as the lava rises and falls.

For security reasons it is currently not possible to enter the caldera of Kīlauea. Therefore, we can observe the Halemaumau only from some distance from the edge of Kīlauea Crater.