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SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015 | WEST HAWAII TODAY
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Halemaumau lava lake of old
The dramatic opening
of the Overlook crater
within Halemaumau
Crater on March 19,
2008, heralded a new
period of activity for
long time Kilauea
Volcano watchers.
Over the next several
years, nearly continuous
eruptive activity formed
an active lava lake in the
new crater. An active
lava lake is one that
overlies its vent, which
constantly supplies lava
to the lake and drains
lava from the lake. This
circulation keeps lava
in the lake hot and
also generally keeps it
from spilling from the
crater. An active lava
lake contrasts with
a “passive” lava lake,
which is simply a pool of
lava formed when lava
flows into a depression.
The active lava lake
in Overlook crater is
now the second largest
lava lake on Earth,
about 560 feet by 720
feet across. The lake
is more than 328 feet
deep and Overlook
crater itself deepened
by26 feet in late April
and early May 2015,
when overflows onto the
floor of Halemaumau
built the rim higher.
Visitors to the
summit of Kilauea
are now accustomed
to the spectacular
nighttime glow above
the lake as it rises and
falls in concert with
summit inflation and
deflation, as well as with
expansion and episodic
escape of gas bubbles.
Although relatively
new to most of us,
churning lava lakes are
certainly not new to
Halemaumau Crater.
Indeed, from 1823
through 1924, a lava
lake (or lakes) was
nearly always present
in the caldera, generally
inside Halemaumau.
Short-lived lava lakes
played in Halemaumau
several times between
1924 and 1968. Much
of the time, however,
visitors witnessed a
scene quite different
from today.
As one example, this
nearly century-old print
shows Halemaumau
when much more of its
floor was covered by
a lava lake compared
to today. Towering
bodies of solidified
lava called “crags” rise
above the lake surface
like battleships on the
sea. At times these
crags were so high that
they could be seen by
spectators at the old
Volcano House nearly
2 miles away. Visitors
could sometimes view
lava fountaining and
hear noises of splashing
lava from the hotel.
Today, the clatter of
breaking and falling
rocks is, with favorable
wind, audible outside
Jaggar Museum, and
the overflows in April
and May were visible
from many caldera
vantage points.
In the early 1900s,
the lava lake inside
Halemaumau resembled
a dynamic body of water
in many ways. Thomas
A. Jaggar, founder of
the Hawaiian Volcano
Observatory, used
terms such as cove, bay
and inlet to describe
lava pools and other
features in the lake. The
lava lake was typically
impounded by levees
made by overflows of
lava from the lake, just
as overflows of silt-laden
water create levees along
the Mississippi River.
This photograph
shows what was known
as the Southeast Crag,
a 36-foot-high peak of
solidified lava that had
been twisted and tilted
upward. As of yet, we’ve
not seen any similar
features developed in
the current lava lake
within Overlook crater.
This may be because
the present lake is
impounded by the walls
of Overlook crater,
not by its own natural
levees, which can change
configuration and
location with time. If
such self-impoundment
should develop in the
Overlook lava lake, we
may once again see
crags, bays and inlets.
We will share more of
the rich photographic
record of Halemaumau
lava lakes from the
last century in future
Volcano Watch columns.
Although they lack the
vivid and mesmerizing
colors of modern
photographs, there is
a stark beauty in these
crisp, black and white
scenes of lava in its
myriad forms that we
find equally compelling.
Kilauea
activity update
Kilauea’s summit lava
lake level fluctuated
over the past week with
changes in summit
inflation and deflation,
but remained well below
the rim of the Overlook
crater. During the past
week the lake ranged
between 130 and 210
feet below the current
floor of Halemaumau.
Kilauea’s East Rift
Zone lava flow continues
to feed widespread
breakouts northeast of
Puu Oo. Active flows
remain within about
5 miles of Puu Oo.
One felt earthquake
was reported on
Hawaii Island. On
June 12 at 1:07 p.m.,
a magnitude-2.3
earthquake occurred 5
miles east of Waimea
at a depth of 8.1 miles.
Visit the HVO
website at
.
wr.usgs.gov for Kilauea
daily eruption updates
and other volcano
status reports, current
volcano photos, recent
earthquakes and more;
call 967-8862 for a
Kilauea summary
update; email questions
to
Volcano Watch is a weekly
article and activity update
written by scientists at the U.S.
Geological Survey’s Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory.
SPECIAL TOWEST HAWAII TODAY
This view is looking southwest across the surface of Halemaumau lava lake on Jan. 23, 1918.
PHOTO BY THOMAS A. JAGGAR JR.
Friends don’t let friends
pay higher taxes?
“Friends Don’t Let
Friends Pay Higher
Taxes.” Sounds like
a great marketing
slogan, right? So just
who do you think is
doing the marketing? A
conservative think tank?
The Tax Foundation
of Hawaii? A taxpayer
advocacy group?
Actually, it comes from
the state of Indiana.
Recently, the General
Assembly of Connecticut,
a state with Democratic
political leadership just
like ours, passed a $40
billion state budget that
includes raising nearly
$2 billion over two years
by raising some taxes
and canceling previously
approved tax cuts before
they become effective.
And it’s not the first time
Connecticut jacked up
their tax rates either.
In 2011, they passed
another $2 billion hike
that drew considerable
press attention.
Anyway, Connecticut’s
current budget bill
prompted a firestorm
of reaction from high-
profile executives such
as General Electric’s
CEO Jeff Immelt, who
emailed employees that
he has assembled an
exploratory group to
“look into the company’s
options to relocate
corporate headquarters
to another state with a
more business friendly
climate.” Connecticut
Gov. Dannel Malloy,
who previously was
expected to just sign
the bill, quickly shifted
to backpedaling mode.
According to the
Hartford Courant, he
has not yet signed the
bill, leaving open the
possibility of revisiting
the tax hikes in a
legislative special session
to be held this summer.
So on June 10, Indiana
took out a full-page ad in
the Wall Street Journal
that took aim, in not-
so-subtle fashion, at
three large companies
that are headquartered
in Connecticut — for
now. It said: “GE, Aetna,
and Travelers: We offer
our support in the
wake of Connecticut’s
looming tax increase,
because friends don’t
let friends pay higher
taxes. Indiana. A
State That Works.”
So what does this all
mean for Hawaii? We
need to understand
that we have some
fiscal problems, such
as large unfunded
employee benefit plans.
Fixing these problems
will cause some pain.
That is when you really
think about who our
friends are, because we
don’t want to inflict a
disproportionate amount
of pain on our friends.
So here is a big
policy question: Who
are our friends?
Obviously, we want
our friends to have
some money so they
can help us out of our
financial mess. Do
we want our friends
to be big businesses,
just like Indiana does?
The fact sheet that
GE’s Immelt sent to
his employees pointed
out that Connecticut
ranked 42nd out of
50 in the national Tax
Foundation’s “2015
State Business Tax
Climate Index.” On
that same index we
ranked 30th — a little
better but with much
room for improvement.
(Indiana ranked a
respectable eighth.)
Or do we want our
friends to be small
businesses, with
youthful enthusiasm,
entrepreneurship
and innovation? The
Small Business &
Entrepreneurship
Council published its
“Small Business Policy
Index 2014” at the end
of last year. Hawaii
placed 47th, with
only New York, New
Jersey and California
scoring lower. Ouch.
Or do we want our
friends to be the Hawaii
residents who vote with
their dollars and their
feet? Forbes compared
the best and worst states
for taxes with emphasis
on individual taxpayers
and pegged Hawaii
at 31st out of 50. “See
where your state stacks
up — and whether
it’s time to consider
a move,” they said.
We need to decide
whether any or all
of these groups — or
others — are our friends,
and what we can do for
them. Then we can say,
“Friends don’t let friends
pay higher taxes. Aloha.”
Tom Yamachika is president of
the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.
BY TOM YAMACHIKA
SPECIAL TOWEST HAWAII TODAY
Forbes compared the
best and worst states
for taxes with emphasis on
individual taxpayers and pegged
Hawaii at 31st out of 50.
“
“
