
Halema'uma'u Crater - From the sign at the
site:
Kilauea Caldera has undergone dramatic change
since the 1823 visit of William Ellis, the
first Western explorer. In that year, the
caldera was almost 1000 feet deep, twice
as deep as it is today. An inner pit, several
miles across, contained raging lakes of molten
lava. Throuightout the 19th century, these
lakes repeatedly overflowed, building up
the level of the floor halfway to the brim.
On 4 occasions this process of construction
was suddenly reversed by collapses involving
almost the entire caldera floor.