Beauty and Disaster

Imagine you are at recess. Basketballs bounce, kickballs sail through the air, kids trade Pokémon cards on the blacktop.

Suddenly, the ground starts shaking violently. You stare in shock and amazement at a massive gray cloud rising into the sky.

And then you realize what is happening: A volcano is erupting—just 2 miles from your school.

This is what 12-year-old Joshua Gula and his friends experienced last May. Josh lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, home to Earth’s most active volcano: Kilauea. For years, Kilauea had seemed tame—a purring cat. But now, Kilauea had transformed into a roaring lion.

Volcanoes are part of life in Hawaii. It is because of volcanoes, in fact, that Hawaii exists.

Millions of years ago, under the Pacific Ocean, magma—that is, melted rock—oozed up through cracks in the ocean floor. This magma, which is called lava once it reaches Earth’s surface, began to form mounds. Like gooey melted chocolate that hardens in the fridge, lava turns rock-solid when it hits cold seawater.

Over millions of years, the mounds of hardened lava got taller and wider. They rose up out of the sea and formed islands. Today these hardened lava blobs are the state of Hawaii, which became the 50th U.S. state in 1959.

Hawaii has eight main islands. Thousands of miles from any other land, Hawaii is one of the most remote and beautiful spots on Earth, a paradise of swaying palm trees, glittering ocean views, and lush forests. Nearly 1.5 million people make their home in Hawaii, and another 9 million visit every year.

Lying on a beach breathing in flower-scented breezes, a tourist can easily forget the islands’ volcanic beginnings. But Hawaii’s volcanic forces are always at work.

Six volcanoes in Hawaii are considered active, which means they could possibly erupt at any moment. Four of these, including Kilauea, are on the island of Hawaii.

But if Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world, why do people live near it?

Kilauea is not the kind of volcano you usually see in disaster movies: the steep-sided mountains, known as stratovolcanoes, that blow their tops with explosive fury, releasing fast-moving flows of superhot gases and ash. Throughout history, stratovolcanoes have unleashed enormous death and destruction. There’s Mount Vesuvius, in Italy, which erupted 1,500 years ago. It killed thousands and buried the city of Pompeii under 20 feet of ash and rock. Then there’s Krakatau, in Indonesia, which erupted in 1893 with a crack heard 3,000 miles away. Closer to home, there’s Mount St. Helens, in Washington State, which killed 57 people when it erupted in 1980.

Kilauea—like the other volcanoes in Hawaii—is not a stratovolcano. Kilauea is a shield volcano. Shield volcanoes look less like towering mountains and more like humps rising from the ground. They aren’t as likely as stratovolcanoes to erupt with sudden violence; rather, they often ooze gentle flows of lava and emit gases, sometimes spurting lava upward in lazy fountains.

Kilauea has been oozing and spurting almost constantly since 1983 but was considered safe as long as people kept away from danger zones. In fact, millions of tourists have traveled to the Big Island just to see Kilauea’s fiery sprays and lava flows.

In recent decades, several neighborhoods have been built on Kilauea, including the one where Josh lives. After he and his family moved to Hawaii from Louisiana four years ago, Josh fell in love with the beauty of the island—the turquoise ocean water, the vibrant flowers, the blue sky. And Kilauea! A volcano, right in his backyard!

Josh was not afraid of Kilauea. On the contrary, he treasured Kilauea as a favorite spot for family hikes and school trips. He felt fortunate to be able to hike to the volcano’s summit and peer inside—to watch in amazement as lava streams plunged off cliffs and into the ocean.

But as Josh soon witnessed, shield volcanoes can be explosive.

Scientists had warned that Kilauea could become violent. After all, it had a deadly past. In 1790, Kilauea exploded, unleashing a fast-moving cloud of ash, rock, and gas, killing hundreds—possibly thousands—of people. It erupted explosively again in 1924 before mostly quieting down.

In April 2018, scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) detected signs that Kilauea was changing. Magma was building up under the volcano. Small earthquakes were rumbling under the ground.

“We knew magma was on the move,” says Tina Neal, head scientist of HVO. “Through our monitoring instruments, we could see that it was moving toward residential areas near the eastern tip of the island.”

The big explosion that Josh and his friends experienced at the summit of Kilauea proved to be the first of several. In the weeks that followed, earthquakes shook the ground. Twenty miles away, rivers of glowing molten rock poured into neighborhoods, devouring houses and cars. By July, about 700 houses had been destroyed. A crystal-clear lake had turned into a steaming pit of lava. Kapoho Bay, a popular swimming spot, had become a river of molten rock.

Josh’s house, 20 miles from the worst lava flows, was safe. But Josh worried that roads would become blocked, making it impossible to escape if a more powerful eruption occurred. He worried that his school would collapse. And he was fearful of the toxic gases seeping from Kilauea.

By August, Kilauea had settled down. Today it is back to its quiet, oozing self. Still, those violent weeks shattered lives and left behind a changed land. Hundreds were left homeless. Many lost everything they owned.

Josh realizes he was fortunate: His home was spared, as was his school. He also realizes another eruption is possible.

He doesn’t dwell on the danger though. He knows volcanoes can destroy—but so too can they create.

“Right now,” Josh says, “the newest land on Earth is forming. None of us would be living in this beautiful place if it weren’t for volcanoes.”

Kilauea’s lava is 2,140 degrees Fahrenheit. How hot is that? Think about this: Chocolate chip cookies bake at just 350 degrees.

About 20 miles from Kilauea, a volcano named Lo’ihi (loh-EE-hee) is erupting. The volcano is a whopping 10,000 feet tall, but you can’t see it because Lo’ihi is also thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean. Though it continues to grow as it erupts, Lo’ihi won’t rise above the water for at least 50,000 years. 

At the summit of Kilauea is a crater called Halema’uma’u (HAH-leh-ma-oo-ma-oo). It is said that the volcano goddess Pele lives there. She creates and destroys, and she decides when and where lava flows. As a way to show Pele respect, some residents place gifts of value near lava flows. When Kilauea erupts, many say they can see Pele in the lava. 

Hawaii isn’t the only part of Earth made by volcanoes. Over many millions of years, volcanic activity has shaped more than 80 percent of Earth’s surface. On any given day, about 20 volcanoes on Earth are erupting.

Volcanic eruptions destroy forests, wildlife, and crops. But volcanoes also help create life. The soil near volcanoes is incredibly fertile because volcanic eruptions deposit minerals and other nutrients into the ground.

It is possible to step on lava once it cools and hardens. But this can be dangerous. Even when the top appears solid, there may be scorching-hot liquid underneath.

Hawaiians have a special relationship with Kilauea. After the recent eruption, many residents expressed grief over having lost their homes and possessions but also respect and awe for the power of the volcanoes that created their island.