# Kamoamoa

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**Kamoamoa** is a set of [volcanic fissures](/source/Volcanic_fissures) born on March 5, 2011, on the flanks of [Kīlauea](/source/K%C4%ABlauea), Hawaii, US. Their opening between [Puʻu ʻŌʻō](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_%CA%BB%C5%8C%CA%BB%C5%8D) to the east and [Nāpau](/source/N%C4%81pau) to the west follows a sudden drop in the level of [lava lakes](/source/Lava_lakes) in the Puʻu ʻŌʻō and [Halemaʻumaʻu](/source/Halema%CA%BBuma%CA%BBu) craters, as well as an increase in nearby [seismic activity](/source/Seismic_activity), particularly [tremors](/source/Episodic_tremor_and_slip). Lava erupted for five days, forming a flow that advanced by around two kilometers. Following the [eruption](/source/Eruption), a fire broke out in the forest.

## Toponymy

The [toponym](/source/Toponymy) of the [volcanic fissure](/source/Volcanic_fissure) is the same as that of the area to the east of the Nāpau crater where it opened.[1][2] As Kamoamoa does not appear as a single [volcanic cone](/source/Volcanic_cone), it is not preceded by the [Hawaiian](/source/Hawaiian_Kingdom) term *Puʻu*, meaning "hill", unlike [Puʻu Kamoamoa](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_Kamoamoa), an ancient cone located just northeast of the fissure but covered by [Puʻu ʻŌʻō](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_%CA%BB%C5%8C%CA%BB%C5%8D) since its formation in 1983.[1]

## Geography

Kamoamoa is located in the United States, in the southeastern part of the Hawaiian [archipelago](/source/Archipelago) and [island](/source/Hawaii_(island)). Administratively, it is in the [Puna District](/source/Puna,_Hawaii), part of [Hawaii County](/source/Hawaii_County,_Hawaii), in the [State of Hawaii](/source/Hawaii).[3] It lies entirely within [Hawaii Volcanoes National Park](/source/Hawai%CA%BBi_Volcanoes_National_Park).[1]

Kamoamoa takes the form of small [volcanic cones](/source/Volcanic_cone) aligned along a set of fissures 2.3 kilometers long stretching southeast from the [Kīlauea Caldera](/source/K%C4%ABlauea_Caldera), between two [craters](/source/Crater), Nāpau to the south-southwest and [Puʻu ʻŌʻō](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_%CA%BB%C5%8C%CA%BB%C5%8D) to the north-northeast.[1][4] From these fissures a [lava flow](/source/Lava) emanated a 2.9 kilometers long and four meters thick in a southeasterly direction.[5]

## History

### Beginnings of the eruption

The opening of the Kamoamoa [fissures](/source/Fissure) is preceded by a change in the eruptive style of [Kīlauea](/source/K%C4%ABlauea).[4][6] From March 1 to 4, 2011, earthquakes were detected at the eastern rift near the [summit caldera](/source/Summit_caldera).[4] They were followed the next day by a tremor and deflation of the volcano by more than 150 [microradians](/source/Microradian) at [Puʻu ʻŌʻō](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_%CA%BB%C5%8C%CA%BB%C5%8D) from 1:42 p.m. local time, then another deflation appeared under the caldera from 2:00 pm.[4][6] In the two craters of [Halemaʻumaʻu](/source/Halema%CA%BBuma%CA%BBu) located in the caldera and Puʻu ʻŌʻō on the east rift, the level of the [lava lakes](/source/Lava_lake) decreased rapidly and by several tens of meters.[4][6] That of [Puʻu ʻŌʻō](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_%CA%BB%C5%8C%CA%BB%C5%8D) thus loses at least 115 meters between 14:16 and 14:21 and continues its movement at 16:26,[6] while that of Halemaʻumaʻu decreased by around 200 meters between March 5 and 7.[4] This rapid drop in lake levels leads to instability in the crater walls.[4][7] Those to the northeast and east of Puʻu ʻŌʻō collapsed inside the crater on March 5 at 2:45 pm, producing a plume of ash, and rockfalls were observed in the [Halemaʻumaʻu crater](/source/Halema%CA%BBuma%CA%BBu), also causing the emission of a volcanic plume on March 7 and 8.[4][6]

### Birth and formation

At the same time as the level of the [lava lakes](/source/Lava_lake) began to drop, a new [seismic](/source/Seismic) swarm was detected beneath the [Makaopuhi](/source/Makaopuhi) and Nāpau craters,[6] and a set of [volcanic fissures](/source/Volcanic_fissures), the Kamoamoa, opened up at 5:15 pm.[6] over a length of 2.3 kilometers south-southwest of the [Puʻu ʻŌʻō](/source/Pu%CA%BBu_%CA%BB%C5%8C%CA%BB%C5%8D), between it and the Nāpau.[4] These fissures immediately released lava at a rate of 2.5 × 106 m3 per day,[2] forming small [cones](/source/Cone) 25 meters high and [lava flows](/source/Lava_flows) that destroyed the surrounding vegetation.[4][7] These lava flows covered short distances, as they were immediately captured by a series of parallel fissures into which they rushed.[4] Between 9:55 p.m. and the following morning, Kamoamoa stopped emitting lava and its volcanic cones reached a height of forty metres.[4] On March 6, the first fissures began spewing lava again, and new ones opened up, releasing more [volcanic gases](/source/Volcanic_gases) than lava.[4] On that day, [sulphur dioxide](/source/Sulphur_dioxide) emissions reached 10,000 tonnes per day, surpassing the previous record of 7,000 tonnes per day set in July 2008.[4] Among the first fissures, those at the western end are the most active, with the formation of volcanic cones exceeding thirty meters in height.[4] [Fountains of lava](/source/Lava) spout from these cones, giving rise to numerous small flows, which eventually join to form a single flow heading south-east.[1][4] The lava flows along the [Pacific coast](/source/Pacific_coast), on the other hand, lost flow on the 6th[7] and dried up completely the following day.[4]

On March 8, Kamoamoa was still active, and its fissures continued to spit out lava that fed the ʻaʻā-type flow.[5] The latter is advancing through the forest, burning vegetation.[5] On March 9, the eastern fissures dry up, but still spew volcanic gases in the form of a plume, while the flow emitted from the western fissures has covered 2.9 kilometers after thirty hours of eruption.[5] By March 10, lava was no longer being emitted from Kamoamoa, but volcanic plumes were emerging from the fissures,[5] and the tremor had returned to pre-eruption levels.[8]

### Consequences

As soon as the [eruption](/source/Eruption) began, the area was closed to [hikers](/source/Hikers), the [Chain of Craters Road](/source/Chain_of_Craters_Road) was closed to traffic and emergency services were mobilized.[6] These restrictions and resources remained in force despite the end of the eruption, due to a brush fire triggered and maintained by the heat of the [lava](/source/Lava).[9][10] This fire advanced through the Ohia forest, already destroyed twice by fire during previous eruptions,[9] and consumed over 740 hectares of vegetation on March 19[10] and 840 on March 25.[11] As the fire advanced, [Hawaiian](/source/Hawaiian_Kingdom) firefighters were assisted by personnel from [California's Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area](/source/Whiskeytown%E2%80%93Shasta%E2%80%93Trinity_National_Recreation_Area) and [Hawaii Volcanoes National Park](/source/Hawai%CA%BBi_Volcanoes_National_Park).[10] They managed to keep the fire under control on March 27, thanks in particular to the rain that had fallen in recent days.[12]

## References

1. [Visualise](https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?basemapUrl=https://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/USA_Topo_Maps/MapServer&center=-155.1257,19.3801&level=14) on [USGS](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey).

1. Associated Press, « Latest Kilauea eruption gets a name », [Honolulu Star-Advertiser](/source/Honolulu_Star-Advertiser), 8 march 2011

1. 2000 Districts Hawaii County, Office of Planning, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, State of Hawaii, 2000, p.1 ([read online](https://planning.hawaii.gov/gis/))

1. ["Global Volcanism Program"](https://volcano.si.edu/). *Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program*. Retrieved 2011-03-14.

1. «[Images and Chronology](http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090707103254/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html) July 7, 2009 at the Wayback Machine», **[Hawaiian Volcano Observatory](/source/Hawaiian_Volcano_Observatory)**

1. « [Pu`u `Ō `ō crater floor collapse followed by middle east rift zone eruption](https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news), USGS HVO News Release March 5, 2011», [Hawaiian Volcano Observatory](/source/Hawaiian_Volcano_Observatory)

1. «[Fissure on Kīlauea’s east rift zone continues to erupt](https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news)», Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

1. Derek Paiva, «Kilauea volcano's newest lava eruption pauses … for now», Hawa'i Magazine, 16 march 2011

1. Associated Press, « Fires still spreading from Hawaii volcano », Mercury News, 16 march 2011

1. «The blaze continues on Big Island», Hawaii News Now, 19 march 2011

1. « [The blaze continues on Big Island](https://www.staradvertiser.com/1186/) », Hawaii News Now, 19 march 2011

1. «Lava-sparked brush fire is now 80% contained», Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 27 march 2011

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kamoamoa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamoamoa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamoamoa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.