Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park unveils new signs highlighting the 2018 Kilauea eruption
COURTESY JANICE WEI/NPS
Chief of Interpretation Ben Hayes (right), park volunteer George Jensen (left) and park visual information specialist Andrew LaValle, all part of the Interpretation team that designed and installed the new signs.
COURTESY JANICE WEI/NPS
Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park President & CEO Elizabeth Fien (left) and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh check out the new orientation signs on the Kilauea Visitor Center lanai.
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii island today unveiled new wayfinding signs intended to help visitors learn more about the 2018 Kilauea eruption and navigate their way between attractions.
The signs offer directions to trails, along with Hawaiian place names, and an interpretation of the historic, summit collapse and eruption of 2018. They also offer details on fascinating volcanic features, like steam vents and sulfur deposits.
Some even include models of Kilauea caldera, or Kaluapele, that reveal the geologic changes to the summit area over time.
A total of 31 signs were designed by staff and volunteers on the park’s interpretation and education team, and funded by the park’s non-profit partner, the Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and the National Park Foundation.
“We think everyone from first-time visitors to long-time park devotees will be as pleased as we are with the beautiful new signs and the information that they convey,” said HVNP acting Superintendent Rhonda Loh in a news release. “We deeply appreciate the support from Friends and the National Park Foundation to fund the project.”
In May 2018, the Kilauea summit underwent a major change as magma drained from the chamber beneath Halemaumau Crater, and the caldera began to collapse, triggering 60,000 strong earthquakes and clouds of rock and ash that continued through early August 2018.
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The seismic activity damaged Jaggar Museum and the Reginald T. Okamura facility operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, which remain closed today.
Most of the park has since reopened, but the 2018 eruption and caldera collapse remain “the most destructive eruptive events” in the last two centuries of Hawaii history.
A total of 30 signs have been strategically placed around the summit of Kilauea and at the Kilauea Visitor Center lanai. Another orientation sign will soon be installed at the park’s Kahuku Unit in Kau, as well, with information about the eight trails, a map and other useful information.
“This project fits perfectly with our core mission,” said Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park President and CEO Elizabeth Fien in the news release. “Having current signage in the park reduces visitor confusion and provides opportunities to learn about the momentous events of 2018 and how Kilauea changed the park.”
