Halema‘uma‘u III

2009

Halema‘uma‘u crater is home to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, and is a wahikapu or sacred place. In March 2008, after twenty-six years of quiet, Halema‘uma‘u came alive with intermittent explosive eruptions, pulsating red glow and billowing gas emissions. During a walk next to Kilauea caldera in July 2009, I rested for a while on a pohaku (rock) and watched, mesmerized, as Halema‘uma‘u’s plume billowed and swirled on the trade winds.