Big Island Ground Tour
Stop 9: Saddle Road
The road that runs between Mauna Kea to the north and Mauna Loa to the south is called the Saddle Road. Here you can get fine views of the many lava flows that have extended down the flanks of Mauna Loa, as well as some of the larger cinder cones from Mauna Kea.
[500x273 JPEG]
This is a view looking up towards the summit of Mauna Kea, close to where the road goes to Hale Pohaku and the astronomical telescopes ( Stop #8 ).
[700x212 JPEG]
This is a mosaic of three photos of Mauna Loa taken from the Saddle Road. Here we can see many of the individual lava flows from the North East Rift Zone, as well as the NOAA weather station (red arrow).
[400x208 JPEG]
Parts of the saddle Road are very bleak, as lava flows from Mauna Loa have frequently covered the area over the last two hundred years. Here we see part of the pahoehoe lava flow (the shiny surface) that was erupted in 1942 that has partially buried the older (darker) aa flow.
From here you can continue on to Stop 10 on the ground, or you can pick another point from the Big Island Virtual Field Trip page.
[Return to top of
Big Island Virtual Field Trip
]
|
Authors: Peter Mouginis-Mark & Lori Glaze
Copyright by P. Mouginis-Mark Curator: Lori Glaze Page Design: Laurence Laforga |
Copyright © 1996 All Rights Reserved. |