| The facilities at this site
actually comprise two activities.
The Thomas A. Jaggar Museum has public displays,
including seismographs showing the activity at sites around the island.
There is also a small gift shop inside the museum.
There is a good public restroom on the way to the
entrance to the museum.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is a research
facility that is not open to the public. |
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| This site is on
the lip of Kilauea Crater. Inside the crater, Halema`uma`u Crater is
the prominent feature. This is the view that most visitors rush to
see and it is indeed worth a leisurely look. |
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| Viewing the
opposite way, from the parking lot away from the museum, you may be lucky
enough to see the full aspect of Mauna Loa. The connection between Kilauea
(the volcano that you're standing on when you are at this site, and Mauna
Loa in the background, is just beyond the foreground ridge. It
roughly follows the track of Highway 11 (the road to Hilo). Both of
these are active volcanoes. |
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| If you look along the lower
slopes of Mauna Loa, you will see a light green patch. This is a
grazed area outside the park boundary. In fact, the distinct line
that runs up the mountain marks the edge of the park.
This is a graphic example of the impact of feral
grazing animals on the landscape in this area.
Grazing was eventually prohibited after World War
II, but it wasn't until the 1980s that all the cattle were eventually
removed from these upper slopes.
There are still some grazing animals, such as sheep,
in the park. |
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| The plants
along the side of the road in the area between Park Headquarters and the
Observatory often have a "beard" of lichens surrounding their
branches.
On the left, below, is a "bearded" Metrosideros
polymorpha (Hawaiian: `ohi`a).
On the right is a low-growing Dodonea viscosa
(Hawaiian: `a`ali`i) that also has lichens covering its lower branches. |
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| This mid-elevation woodland
near this site has small to medium-sized Metrosideros polymorpha
(Hawaiian: `ohi`a) trees.
Many of the trees will have a flower or two.
Occasionally you will see an individual in full
flower, covered with large red blossoms. |
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| If you haven't yet seen a
flower from a Metrosideros polymorpha (Hawaiian: `ohi`a), this may
be a good time. The low-stature trees along the edge of the parking
lot often have flowers that you can see up close. |
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| There are several steam
vents near the parking lot. They are sites of more abundant plant
growth.
Speculate on why this must be? |
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