178 NATURAL HISTOEY OF HAWAII. 



the lava owing to the ehenucally charged steam, it is of value only as a curiosity, 

 and specimens of sulphur, sulphate of soda, lime and alumina ai'e usually car- 

 ried away. 



KiLAUEA-IKI. 



A short expedition is usually made on foot to Kilauea-iki ^ * before de- 

 scending into the main ealdera. The small lateral crater, while connected with 

 the larger one is, in many ways, really a side issue. It is less than half a mile 

 to the east of the north end of the main crater and a little over a mile from 

 the hotel. 



It has not been active for more than half a century but in spite of that 

 it is full of interest to the geologist, as it is a splendid example of a pit crater. 

 It is 740 feet deep '■' an dis more than half a milei" across the top. In 1832 

 a severe earthquake shattered the wall which separated this crater from Kilauea 

 and large crevices opened in the sunken neck of land which unites the two 

 craters. From the earth rents along the south side of the isthmus a curioiis 

 flow of brown lava ran to right and left, entering both the craters, but the 

 amount of lava emitted was very slight. Nevertheless, the lava as it entered 

 Kilauea over the bank formed a fall 200 feet in height that is plainly seen from 

 the Volcano House. The black shining lava floor in Kilauea-iki was a result 

 of the activity in the main crater in 1868; since then the smaller crater has been 

 quiet and apparently dead. 



Ke.vnak.\koi. 



To the south of Kilauea-iki and on the flat plain surrounding Kilauea at a 

 point almost due east of the pit of Halemaumau is a still smaller lateral crater 

 with vertical walls known as Keanakakoi.^" The present floor of this pit, the 

 result of activity in 1877, is below the floor of Kilauea. It is of interest to note 

 that this crater derives its name from the fact that old-time Hawaiians found 

 there suitable material for the manufacture of their stone implements, but the 

 eruption just mentioned obliterated all trace of their workshop. 



Both of these lateral craters are now skirted by the new automoliile road 

 known as Echo Trail, a name due to the fact that five distinct echoes can be 

 heard from the west bank of Keanakakoi. The road leads down into Kilauea 

 at this point and crosses its floor to the pit, enabling one to run n motor car to 

 the verj' brink of Halemaumau with ease and safety. 



The Descent Into the Main Crater. 



As the descent into the main crater is the chief concern of the visitor and 

 is usually made on foot or on horseback, it is customary to make the start early 

 in the afternon, prepared to have a lunch beside the pit, in defiance of 

 Pele, just as Kapiolani did almost a century ago. However, no one should miss 



!• Little Kilauea. " 867 feet below the Volcano House. " 3300x2800 feet. 



1' The workshop of the adzcmaker. 



