Haleakala means 'House of the
Sun' in Hawaiian. Its crater is
an amazing swirl of colors and
volcanic cones above the clouds.
Geologists say it is likely to
erupt again someday, even though
it's been more than 200 years
since it was last active. The
summit is over 10,000 feet high,
the highest point on Maui island,
and the air is thin enough to
cause altitude sickness if you
don't take some time to acclimate
yourself. I took this photo around
2002.
Haleakala is the name of the crater
that forms the summit of East Maui
Volcano. Maui, one of the younger
islands in Hawaiian chain, began as
two separate volcanoes on the ocean
floor (East Maui volcano probably
began its growth about 2.0 million
years ago.)
Early
Hawaiians applied the name Haleakala
("house of the sun") to
the summit area only, most likely
because from the west side of the
island, the sun could be seen rising
up over the eastern side of the mountain.
In Hawaiian folklore, the depression
at the summit of Haleakala was home
to the grandmother of the demigod
Maui. According to the legend, Maui's
grandmother helped him capture the
sun and force it to slow its journey
across the sky in order to lengthen
the day. In modern times, Haleakala
has become synonymous with the entire
East Maui volcano. Hawaiian mythology
is a variant of a more general Polynesian
mythology. ... In Polynesian mythology,
and especially in New Zealand and
Hawaii, Maui is an extremely powerful
god, for whom the island of Maui was
named. ..
From the summit one
looks down into a massive depression
some 11.25 km (7 mi) across, 3.2 km
(2 mi) wide, and nearly 800 m (2,600
ft) deep. The surrounding walls are
steep and the interior mostly barren-looking
with a scattering of volcanic cones.
The volcano is officially considered
active[1] and has produced numerous
eruptions in the last 30,000 years.
This volcanic activity has been along
two rift zones, the southwest and
east. These two rift zones together
form an arc that extends from La Perouse
Bay on the southwest, through the
Haleakala Crater and to Hana, to the
east. The east rift zone continues
under the ocean beyond the east coast
of Maui as Haleakala Ridge, making
the combined rift zones one of the
longest in the Hawaiian Islands chain.[3]
Haleakala is far smaller
than many volcanic craters (calderas);
there is an excellent chance that
it is not extinct, but only dormant;
and strictly speaking it is not of
volcanic origin, beyond the fact that
it exists in a volcanic mountain.
Until recently, East Maui Volcano
was thought to have last erupted around
1790. Recent studies have shown that
this must have been cartographer errors
from maps made of the same area from
the first voyages of La Perouse and
Vancouver to the area. Recent advanced
dating tests have shown that the last
eruption was more likely to have been
in the 1600's. These last flows from
the southwest rift zone of Haleakala
make up the large lava deposits of
the Ahihi Kina`u/La Perouse Bay area
of South Maui. In addition, contrary
to popular belief, Haleakala "crater"
is not a volcanic in origin, nor can
it accurately be called a caldera
(which is formed through when the
summit of a volcano collapses to form
a depression). Rather, scientists
believe that Haleakala's "crater"
was formed when the headwalls of two
large erosional valleys merged at
the summit of the volcano. These valleys
formed the two large gaps —
Ko‘olau on the north side and
Kaupo on the south — to either
side of the depression. Crater Lake,
Oregon A caldera is a volcanic feature
formed by the collapse of a volcano
into itself. ... [4]
Until recently, East
Maui Volcano was thought to have last
erupted around 1790, based largely
on comparisons of maps made during
the voyages of La Perouse and George
Vancouver. Recent advanced dating
tests, however, have shown that the
last eruption was more likely to have
been in the 1600s.[2] These last flows
from the southwest rift zone of Haleakala
make up the large lava deposits of
the Ahihi Kina`u/La Perouse Bay area
of South Maui. In addition, contrary
to popular belief, Haleakala "crater"
is not volcanic in origin, nor can
it accurately be called a caldera
(which is formed through when the
summit of a volcano collapses to form
a depression). Rather, scientists
believe that Haleakala's "crater"
was formed when the headwalls of two
large erosional valleys merged at
the summit of the volcano. These valleys
formed the two large gaps —
Ko‘olau on the north side and
Kaupo on the south — on either
side of the depression.[4]
At higher elevations, a vast rainforest
still thrives. It is here that the
endangered Maui parrotbill, and other
rare native birds continue to exist.
The rainforest oozes down the slope
like lava for 35 miles until it reaches
the sea. Wildness trails wind their
way alongside 400 foot waterfalls,
tropical stream , and turquoise pools.
On the leeward slopes, dry forest
persists despite browsing pests and
fire, giving way at altitude to alpine
shrubland, which is the realm of the
rare Hawaiian goose, the nene. Only
the hardiest of shrubs survive above
this height, where the rain is absorbed
by the dry, porous rock. In the summer
rains persist every day, and in winter
every night.[5]
