Overview of Lava Tree State Park Located almost 3 miles southeast of Pāhoa, in the Nanawale Forest Reserve, you will find Lava Tree State Park. Here you can stroll along a looped path through Kilauea lava encrusted trees. These primitive molds were formed in 1790 after the East Rift of the Kilauea volcano imploded and its lava flow barreled through an Ohia Tree forest. This area was once the extensive Ainahou Ranch of William Herbert Shipman, a wealthy businessman on the island of Hawaii. The 2018 flow did not touch this beautiful park, although just about a mile further down, the road was blocked by 20 foot tall flows, so the park was lucky to be spared. Managed by the Hawaii State Parks, Lava Tree State Park exhibits multiple shapes and sizes of lava trees. It is estimated that the lava creating these trees was 11 feet deep and spread laterally. Centuries later, a new forest has risen, but the impressive remains of once a healthy towering forest of trees charred by lava stands as a real reminder of the power of Pele. How Lava Trees Form Volcanoes are like colossal valves that release pressure from deep inside Earth. When volcanoes erupt, like massive regulators discharging pressure from inside the earth’s core, temperatures become hot enough to melt rock (1300 -2400 Fahrenheit) the molten rock is called magma. When it liquefies, it begins to float toward the surface of Earth. If it breaks through Earth’s surface, it is then called lava.
Take a Stroll Through Lava Tree State Park
