Walking toward Pu‘u Pua‘i (gushing hill), did not exist prior to 1959. The reddish-brown cavity at the base of this cone was the main vent from which lava erupted. Imagine lava shooting five times higher than Pu‘u Pua‘i is tall. Three days before the eruption ended, lava surged 1,900 feet above the vent—a record for the highest fountain ever measured in Hawai‘i.

Note the variety of colors in rocks around the vent. In a process similar to the way water rusts a nail, volcanic gases oxidize iron-rich minerals in lava, creating shades of red, purple and brown in the rocks.