Saddle Road allows you to drive through one of the fastest-changing landscapes on Earth … but don’t linger too long.
Saddle Road allows you to drive through one of the fastest-changing landscapes on Earth … but don’t linger too long.
Four Mauna Loa eruptions — between 1843 and 1935 — laid a solid lava base for today’s roads.
The dramatic contrast between the smooth shield shape of Mauna Loa and the cinder-cone-covered summit of Mauna Kea is stunningly visible on a clear day.
Mauna Kea’s summit has been greatly modified by 15,000-year-old glacial moraines; but on Mauna Loa, if glacial deposits exist they are buried under hundreds of feet of lava.
Dr. Jim Kauahikaua of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Dr. Ken Hon of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Geology Department, kick off Volcano Awareness Month next week at the Lyman Museum with a look at the geology of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, along the old Saddle Road and the new Daniel K. Inouye Highway. Their program is being presented on two occasions: a matinee from 3-4:30 p.m. Jan. 12 and an encore presentation from 7-8:30 p.m. Jan. 16.
The presentation is part of Lyman Museum’s Saigo Public Program lecture series. Admission is free to museum members, $3 for nonmembers. Space is limited; first come, first seated.
The nationally accredited and Smithsonian-affiliated Lyman Museum showcases the natural and cultural history of Hawaii. Located in historic Downtown Hilo at 276 Haili Street, the museum is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For more information, call 935-5021 or visit www.lymanmuseum.org.