Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Park Ranger Walk to the Rim of Kilauea Caldera

Park Ranger Guided Tour to the Kilauea Caldera Overlook - Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Photos by John Fischer

From beneath this caldera lava begins is flow towards the ocean.

Useful Terms*

• Caldera: The Spanish word for cauldron, a basin-shaped volcanic depression; by definition, at least a mile in diameter. Such large depressions are typically formed by the subsidence of volcanoes. Crater Lake occupies the best-known caldera in the Cascades.
  
  
• Crater: A steep-sided, usually circular depression formed by either explosion or collapse at a volcanic vent.
  
  
• Pit Crater: A crater formed by sinking in of the surface, not primarily a vent for lava.

Index: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

1. Getting to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
2. Kilauea Visitor Center
3. Park Ranger Walk to the Rim of Kilauea Caldera
4. Volcano House
5. Volcano Art Center
6. Steam Vents
7. Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
8. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum
9. Halema'uma'u Crater Overlook
10. Chain of Craters Road