Geology of Haleakala

Geology of Haleakala

by Chris Pellowski and Jim Christopherson

Haleakala (Ha lay ah ka lah) "House of the Sun"

According to Hawaiian legend a mischievous Polynesian demigod named Maui, son of Hina, was able to slow the sun's daily journey across the sky so as to allow his mothers Tapa cloth to completely dry. Maui's plan included climbing Haleakala with 16 snare ropes in hand and hiding in a cave until morning came. As the lazy sun began to show it's long rays, Maui snared each one and tied them to an Ohia tree. As a helpless captive of Maui, the sun agreed to walk across the sky each morning thus allowing his mother's tapa cloth to dry. The Sun continues to honor the agreement set forth by Maui and it has been said that when you observe the sun setting after it's timely journey across the sky, you can still see the snare ropes left by Maui.

"Did you know that?"

The oldest rocks above sea level on Haleakala are about 910,000 years old

The last eruption occurred over 200 years ago in 1790, near Makena on the southern coast of the island

The summit is 10,023 feet above sea level, the highest point on the island of Maui

Haleakala National Park is 28,665 acres in size

The dimensions of Haleakala Crater are:
Area: 19 square miles
Length: 7.5 miles long
Width: 2.5 miles wide
Depth: about 3,000 feet
Circumference: 21 miles

Haleakala is a shield volcano whose crater is erosional, not volcanic in origin

The three eruptive stages of growth

1) Honomau'u volcanic period- initial building period which began about 1 million years ago

2) Kula volcanic period- major portion of the building of Haleakala

3) Hana volcanic period- ended 800-1,000 years ago

(ref: Haleakala: The Story Behind the Scenery, Jim Mack, 1998)

Sunrise over Haleakala

Sharon Ringsven leads our group on a hike through the "crater"

The summit of Haleakala is an erosional crater with cinder cones superimposed within it boundaries. We entered the crater by hiking the Sliding Sands Trail to the right in this picture

Young craters are the dominant features of the crater floor. The Sliding Sands Trail is along the base of the cliffs in the distance

The mists lent an ethereal atmosphere to much of our hike

Silverswords, rare plants related to sunflowers, are found on the crater floor

Flowers of the silverswords bloom once in about 25 years, followed by the death of the plant

Sharon reviews a map of the geology of Haleakala with our group

Lava flows on the crater floor lend a lunar aspect to the scene

Lava flows and young cinder cones on the crater floor, looking west

Sharon Ringsven and Chris Pellowski - tired hikers!

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Links to Haleakala

General Information
- National Park Service
- Park Vision
Birds Eye View
Formation of Hawaiian Volcanoes

References:

Kepler, C.B. and A. K., 1988, Haleakala, A Guide to the Mountain: Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, HI

Haleakala National Park Recreation Map, 1993, Earthwalk Press

Mack, J., 1998, Haleakala: The Story Behind the Scenery