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Tags: Volcano Travel / Volcanoes / Science Travel / Active Travel / Hawaii Travel / → All Tags

Hawaii Introduces Volcano Awareness Month Since Erupting Is So Hot Right Now

Thanks to a proclamation from the Hawaii County mayor, January is officially Volcano Awareness Month. Throughout the month the US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park—among other local organizations—are teaming up to share their knowledge and understanding about all things lava.

In addition to the usual offerings within the Big Island’s national park, there are going to be loads more programs, talks, and hikes focused on better understanding what the heck is happening both above and below the earth. Volcanologists will be on hand every Tuesday to answer questions about Kilauea and probably anything else you want to throw at them. On Saturdays, groups can meet up with a park ranger to head on a hike into the Kilauea caldera—it’s just shy of three miles round-trip. For those that are a little more into entertainment, January 16 is the day to learn all about a special hula that tells the story of Pele—the goddess of fire, not the famous soccer player.

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Tags: Costa Rica Field Trip / Volcanoes / Adventure Travel / Ziplines / White Water Rafting / → All Tags

How to Rev Your Adrenaline in Arenal

All this week, Amanda Pressner will be bringing us reports from her recent trip to Costa Rica with her entire family. Any questions about traveling to Costa Rica or family-oriented activities to do while you're there? Let us know.

With just four days to spend in the Costa Rican jungle, my family and I wanted to pack in as much pulse pounding excitement as we possibly could—and what better way, we figured, than to set up base camp just down the slope from an active volcano?

Arenal (the name of the volcano, a lake and a region in Costa Rica) is one of the country’s popular destinations—and for very good reason. Not only is it possible to see the fiery red lava flow at the top of the cone on a clear night (usually from the comfort of your hotel room) but there’s no shortage of ways to experience the nearby rainforest and cloud forest and the rivers that cut through them.

In fact, according to Elaine Knight, owner of the Lost Iguana Resort & Spa, the biggest mistake people when planning their trip to Costa Rica rushing to hit too many different destinations and booking too few nights in Arenal.

In an email before the trip, she encouraged our group of six to spend four nights, and four days in the local area. If figured that she might be a tad partial, but in the end, I’m so glad we followed her advice.

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Tags: Volcanoes / National Parks / Science Travel / → All Tags

Things At Yellowstone Aren't As Calm As Once Thought

This month’s copy of National Geographic has some great reading for those headed out to Yellowstone National Park this summer. However, it’s the kind of information that you may not want to hear if you’re a worrywart. Apparently the volcano supervolcano that created one of the country’s best national parks isn’t as sleepy as researchers once thought.

Although researchers aren’t trying to terrify us, there is some evidence that the volcano has been inching upwards in recent years. It’s doming, it’s growing, and researchers refer to it as a caldera at unrest, which sounds a little unsettling to us. Especially when you consider some of the suspected supervolcano eruptions that have taken place in the planet’s history. About 2.1 million years ago an eruption at Yellowstone left a hole in the ground as large as Rhode Island.

For now, researchers seem to agree on one thing: they aren’t sure what will happen and when. An eruption could wipe out much of the human race and next week we could be plunged into a volcanic winter for 100,000 years, or never at all. All we know is we better go see Old Faithful before it's upstaged by something a little more extreme.

Related Stories:
· When Yellowstone Explodes [National Geographic]
· Tonga's Underwater Volcano Might Affect the Fiji Beach Scene [Jaunted]
· Science Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Mud Volcano at Yellowstone: enyacologne]

Tags: Airplane News / Airplane Delays / Volcanoes / Weather / → All Tags

We Can't Imagine A Worse Flight Delay Reason Than Volcanic Eruption

And here we thought cancellation due to regular thunderstorms was already a nightmare, but it turns out that being unable to fly through crowds of volcanic ash tops our list of freaky flight delays reasons.

This is exactly what is happening in Vancouver, as Russia's Sarychev Peak on the remote Kuril Islands started spewing massive clouds of ash and smoke on June 12, and Asia-bound airplanes aren't risking flying through the grit.

Currently affected by the explosive fun of Mother Nature are flights between Vancouver and Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Flights were canceled all the way up until yesterday, and now flights are attempting to adjust routes to avoid the 30-mile large cloud of leftover ash.

If this little rural earth-shaking affects major transpacific travel so much, we can only fear for any major belching from Mount Rainier, seeing as how it's some several hundred years overdue for a cataclysmic explosion. Perhaps airports need to practice for volcano drills?

Related Stories:
· Vancouver To Asia flights cancelled because of volcanic eruption [CBC Canada]
· Volcano delaying Asia flights [Shanghaiist]
· Volcano Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gary DeLong]

Tags: Volcanoes / National Parks / Big Island / Hawaii Travel / → All Tags

Hawaii's Mount Kilauea Volcano Feeling The Lava Love

If you’ve been paying attention to all the hype, you’d know that now is a great time to visit Hawaii. The state is hurting since a lot of tourist money has dried up, but that’s good news for budget-conscious travelers who've always dreamt of getting lei'd. With a little patience, scoring a great hotel and airfare deal is totally possible. If for some reason you need more urging to visit the Aloha State, consider that you might just get to see Kilauea getting a little feisty.

Over on the Big Island, things have been a little more active than usual for the last week or so at the Halemaumau crater, and the glow of lava can easily been seen overnight from the viewpoint at the Jaggar Museum. Scientists are pretty hot and heavy about what could happen next, but they’re unsure if lava will ever erupt in a fountain out of the crater.

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has limited access to the summit vent, just in case things get a little too exciting a little too quickly. Right now, it’s estimated that molten lava is only about 300 feet below the crater flow—which, in relative terms, is extremely close. Although there’s always something cooking deep inside the earth, it’s been since October 2008 since Madam Pele has been this active. If you go at active times like this, there's no need to enter the dangerous zone in order to see volcanic action; so get there while the lava getting's good.

Related Stories:
·Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park [Official Site]
·Scientists Eye Glowing Volcano Crater In Hawaii [AP, via Google]
·Halemaumau Lava Lake Bubbling Up? [KHNL]
·Jaunted In Hawaii coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo from 2008: NDomer73]

Tags: Travel News Briefs / Passports / Passport Cards / Volcanoes / → All Tags

Passport Cards Just Aren't as Cool as Passport Books

With so much travel news raining down on us, we don't always have time to give every story its own forecast. Here's more of the day's news, in brief.

· Earthquake in Bay Area: A 4.3 earthquake occurred today but there's no major damage. [SF Chronicle]

· Passport Cards for Limited Travel: We aren't totally in love with the idea of passport cards because we prize our passport books so much, but if you only travel by land or sea, these could work for you. Also of note: Happy Traveler (pictured above) DOES not look like he was born in 1981. Just sayin'. [AJC]

· LA's Cupcake Challenge is Ferociously Delicious: LAT has some tasty photos of the cupcake challenge that went down at the Hollywood Renaissance hotel over the weekend. [LAT]

· Mount Redoubt Re-Erupts, Re-Cancels Alaska Airlines FLights: Mount Redoubt's Volcano is still spewing ash, forcing the Anchorage airport to cancel flights. [AP Video Essay]

Tags: Volcanoes / Alaska Airlines / Dangerous Travel / Mount Redoubt / → All Tags

Mount Redoubt Erupts; Alaska Airlines Cancels Flights

Not to be outdone by the underwater volcano in Tonga, Alaska's own Mount Redoubt has erupted four times last night, spraying ash nine miles into the air but fortunately sparing the nearby city of Anchorage any immediate ashfall. However, Alaska Airlines canceled 19 flights in and out of the Anchorage airport because of the ash and meteorologists do expect ash to begin falling later today.

Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been closely monitoring the 10,200-foot volcano which is located in the Chigmit Mountains, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage. It lasted erupted in 1989 and actually caught a KLM plane in its plume. Thankfully, the plane later landed safely at Anchorage but now we understand why Alaska Airlines was quick to ground their flights.

The AVO has (not surprisingly) been Twittering the volcano's activity and their last update from 38 minutes ago says, "Another large explosion is occurring at Redoubt." Yikes. But the last time Mount Redoubt erupted, it did so for about four months. So we could be in for the long haul here, folks. Alaska Airlines does have an advisory note on its website so check your flight status regularly if you think you might be affected.

Related Stories:
· Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt erupts 4 times [AP]
· Alaska Volcano Observatory [Official Site]
· Tonga's Underwater Volcano Might Affect the Fiji Beach Scene [Jaunted]

Tags: Volcanoes / Beaches / Tonga Travel / Science Travel / → All Tags

Tonga's Underwater Volcano Might Affect the Fiji Beach Scene

If you're looking to suntan on the beaches in Fiji in the very near future, just beware of pumice from a underwater volcano that's been erupting in Tonga. Yes, an underwater volcano in between two of Tonga's volcanic islands has been shooting smoke, steam and ash into the sky, causing scientists to travel to the site today to see what's going on.

Right now the eruptions are not dangerous to any of the coastal villages nearby or to the fishes despite the presence of volcanic ash on the ocean surface. However, neighboring island Fiji could be hit with "large amounts of pumice" on their southern coast islands, making for a very gritty sort of beach day.

The Volcanism Blog has a great satellite shot of what the underwater volcano looks like but for the real shock and awe check out the video above from Live Leak.

Related Stories:
· Tongan inspection team heads to undersea volcano [AP]

Tags: Volcanoes / Volcano Travel / Alaska Travel / PenAir / → All Tags

Alaskan Volcano Blows, Delays Regional Flights with Ash Cloud

Umnak Island, in the Aleutians of Southwest Alaska, experienced a rocking volcano explosion Saturday morning. Because of Mount Okmok's location in the isolated island chain, the only people immediately affected were on a cattle ranch located just six miles from the base of the 3,500-foot volcano.

Ranch owner and Arizona native Lonnie Kennedy fired up his helicopter when he heard the thunderous boom and began moving his family and ranch hands off the property towards the "Deadliest Catch" territory of Dutch Harbor.

The explosion tossed smoke and ash 45,000 feet in the air, leading PenAir to cancel two regional flights. Regular service returned by Sunday morning.

The last time this volcano exploded was 1997; that time it remained active for eight months. We're more amazed by how a cattle rancher goes from Arizona to Alaska. A-state pride, baby!

Related Stories:
· 10 Rescued after Eruption [AP, via ADN]
· Volcanoes coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Mt. Okmok in quieter times: Wikimedia]

Tags: Big Island Travel / National Parks / Volcanoes / Volcano Travel / Nature / → All Tags

Volcano Travel: Beware the Vog

Visitors have been enjoying the show at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park since March, when a new vent exploded open in Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea. The volcano has sent a continuous flow of fluffy white gas into the sky, adding some excitement to the park's already impressive lava flows.

But Kilauea has also covered the Big Island in a haze of "vog"--volcanic fog--which is heavy in sulfur dioxide and has some island residents wheezing and worrying for their health. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been among the voggiest areas, leading rangers to close parts of the park nearest the summit, and even temporarily shutter the entire park in April.

The Big Island Visitors Bureau launched a press push this week to bring visitors back to the park, noting that the trade winds returned last Friday, pushing the vog out to sea and creating clearer viewing opportunities.

If you'd rather check the vog from a distance, the NPS has set up a webcam on the volcano.

Related Stories:
· Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park [Official Site]
· Losing Your Cool in Hawaii [Jaunted]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: bobster1985]

Tags: Volcanoes / Dangerous Travel / South America Travel / → All Tags

Volcano Travel: Chile's So Hot Right Now

The New Year's eruption of the Llaima volcano in Chile's Conguillío National Park has tourists fleeing for cooler pastures. The 10,250-foot-high mountain last erupted seven months ago.

About 150 tourists were hustled out of the area as the fireworks started. Early today, another 54 visitors and national park staff took off. Despite some impressive eruption images, though, things are dying down. Still, says one government official:

At this moment I would recommend against tourism in the area.

Related Stories:
· Chile Volcano Forces Evacuations [BBC]
· Volcano Erupts in Southern Chile [SMH]
· Tourists Rescued as Volcano Erupts [Sky News]
· "There is Some Flow of Lava" [AP, via AZ Republic]
· Dangerous Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Alvaro Jimenez]

Tags: Active Travel / Volcanoes / Hawaii / National Parks / Nature / → All Tags

Losing Your Cool in Hawaii

We'll admit we've been pretty friendly to Hawaii ever since they got walloped by an earthquake in October, but they've always had so much to offer active travelers. On the Big Island, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park allows you to basically walk right up to lava flows. The park surrounds some of the planet's most active volcanoes--Mauna Loa and Kilauea--so you're basically guaranteed some fireworks whenever you go.

Kilauea has been erupting non-stop since 1983, taking out roads and even a park visitor center in the process. So, step quickly and carefully when you head out for those hikes: half-day length trails are scattered throughout the park. If you're not that ambitious, there's an 11-mile crater rim drive that will get you close to some action, provided lava hasn't poured over the road. Seriously.

[Photo: willgorman]

Related:
· Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park [Official Site]
· Jaunted's Volcano coverage [Jaunted]