Mauna Ulu - Chain of Craters Road - Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Our fifth stop on Chain of Craters Road in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park during our February 2014 visit was along a side road to the left at approximately mile marker 3.7.  This was once the main road, but it was covered by lava from Mauna Ulu in 1969 and again in 1974.  Mauna Ulu, a shield volcano, rose nearly 400 feet during its brief five year eruptive history.  Its lava flows covered over 11,000 acres and added 250 acres to Hawai'i Island.

A large parking area and vault toilets have been added as this is the trailhead for the seven mile Nāpau Trail across the open lava to Pu'u Huluhulu, Mauna Ulu, Makopuhi and Nāpau craters.  A much shorter ¼ mile loop trail leads to an eruptive fissure from 1969.  Lava spouted from the fissure and created a series of cinder and spatter ridges along its northern edge.

The 1974 lava flow encroached on part of the already closed road

The pre-1969 Chain of Craters Road...

...was closed by a massive lava flow from Mauna Ulu

Standing on the 1969 lava flow while looking at the edge of the January 1974 lava flow and beyond to Mauna Ulu

The 1974 lava flow is about 20 feet thick at the edge

Cinder and spatter domes created by the fissure

The 1969 eruptive fissure is now a haven for plant life

Cinder and spatter mound

Mauna Ulu from the top of the cinder and spatter ridge

Lava trees stand where a forest once grew

Another view of the fissure from its ridge

Steam still rises from several vents on Mauna Ulu

Portions of the ridge are twenty feet high

Life along the fissure

A face seems to appears in the cinder and spatter ridge

Ferns and trees dominate the plant life in the protected fissure

A pair of lava trees

Mauna Ulu, black 1974 lava and brown 1969 lava

Flow patterns in the 1969 lava

A possible lava tube in the 1969 pumice

Each layer of lava has a unique chemical composition

Lava trees, the fissure and the spatter mounds

An entrance fee of $10 provides a seven-day pass to visit the park.  Other entrance options include the Hawai`i Tri-park Annual Pass for $25 for twelve month access to three parks in Hawai'i, an America the Beautiful Annual Pass for $80 for twelve months access to most national parks and forests or a Senior Pass for a one-time fee of $10 for those age 62 or over for access to most national parks and forests.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm.