The Geologic Oddity in Hawaii; Kazumura Cave, The World's Longest Lava Tube

[@andrewstehlik3917]

By the way, it is also one of the “deepest” caves in the world if defined by the highest and lowest points (entrance and exit) although it is just few feet beneath the surface. Lavatube begins near the summit of Kīlauea in 1247 m above sea level and goes all the way down to almost the sea level. Thus the difference between the highest and lowest points is about 1200 meters. That would place it among 50 deepest caves in the world ;-) . I visited this and a number of other Hawaiian lava tubes. One can imagine there might be similar lava tubes on Mauna Kea and I have visited lava tubes on slopes of Mauna Loa. If there are uninterrupted lava tube complexes on Mauna Loa they could easily be “deepest” caves anywhere - summits of Mauna Loa or Kea are 4000 meters above sea level.

[@johnwalters1341]

Many of Hawaii's lava tubes have evolved unique ecosystems, with fascinating creatures such as blind spiders and blind crickets. Each ecosystem evolved separately, so each species is found only in its particular lava tube. The critters ultimately get their food from tree roots growing through the ceiling of the cave.

[@pressaltf4forfreevbucks179]

​@@samsonsoturian6013all

[@Discotekh_Dynasty]

Blind white gross cave spiders? Nah I’m good

[@festerallday]

I live on top of a collapsed section of a branch off the Kazimura caves. When it rains hard you can hear them flowing millions of gallons of water. It makes the ground rumble.

[@DanielBerke]

Having explored several lava tubes here on the Big Island, that's some impressive lighting and cinematography for those opening interior shots! I've toyed with the idea of getting some friends together with some lights and trying to capture some of the incredible interior formations on video.

[@sitiesito715]

I recently hiked in Ape Cave, a lava tube near Mt. St Helens, WA. It was an impressive site and an unforgettable experience. Afterwards it was fun crawling through the nearby tree wells formed by lava flowing around huge ancient trees.

[@TheSpaceEnthusiast-vl6wx]

Thanks! The Kazumura lava tube is unbelievably long! The shot at 2:34 is impressive. It is almost like peeking into Earth's interior, just on a much, much smaller scale.

[@Selfleader420]

Aloha's from the Big island 🏝,,,moved here ten years ago and as a outside worker ,,I have found a few forgotten places in the jungle camping 🏕,,,gotta be very careful wondering in the wild ,,if you stepon a skylight hole,,,they can drop down 30 feet or more,,,even where it looks solid ,,,it can be deceiving,,,whole bulldozers have dropped down underground clearing land,,,have seen holes open up after trees clearing,,,,its very beautiful but can be dangerous,,,stay safe and Aloha's Mahalo for your work 🤙✌️

[@Nicky_Otto]

Seeing people walk in that tube cave, gives you an idea of how big those lava flows are, quite amazing how much would flow through there.

[@lorez201]

Can you do an episode about the quartzite caves in the Tepuis? I think it's crazy that caves could even form in silica bedrock, and I'm curious how their features form versus how more familiar speleothems do so in limestone caves.

[@absalomdraconis]

If I recall correctly, some silica formations are related to hot water (e.g. that cave with huge crystals in Mexico).

[@lorez201]

@@absalomdraconis The crystals in those caves in Mexico are made of gypsym, not silica, though hydrothermal processes also produce quartz crystals in other contexts.

[@pelewaieveisreal6449]

Sweed video! I grew up with an entrance to this lava tube. Scientists would come from all over the world with gifts. We also used it as a hurricane shelter for the neighborhood.

[@sogno_89]

I was literally in Hawai'i hiking the volcanoes when you posted this video. Just now catching up. Somehow I missed this hearing about this lava tube? We went to the one in the national park. It was fascinating.

[@BlastFurnace10]

That one time my bro fell into lava tube while cycling and police didn't want to help me find him

[@SMOBY44]

I live on the western slopes of Mt. St. Helens and have enjoyed finding old lava tubes, most uncharted and usually quite short due to complete cave ins. It's not uncommon to follow the depression left by the cave in and pick up a new entrance and continue on. The western and southern slopes of Mt Adams are even better With some of the really big complexes having names like The Dynamite cave, or Deadhorse cave. The latter has you crawl in 3 feet of darkness next to a creek for hundreds of feet before opening up into the first room.

[@michaelgpartridge2384]

Dynamited Cave is something else…

[@SMOBY44]

@@michaelgpartridge2384 Haven't been in it for years.

[@Zer0FuXGiv3n]

I live just near this system, in fact we gave tours through parts of it back in the early 2000's.

[@spoingle]

I just went down there for the first time last month and it was incredible, it was like none of the other caves I’ve seen here

[@thomasgoodwin2648]

Understanding the stability of such features will become even more important as (and if) humanity spreads around the solar system. There is great interest in using lava tubes (or similar structures) as shelter from the hard radiation of space on the Moon, Mars, and (gonna hate myself for saying this) beyond! (I feel so cliche right now... ) 💪😎👍

[@drk321]

Big Island resident here. Some of our most interesting lava tubes are underwater and we scuba dive through them.

[@PunaSquirrel]

Awesome video. I live 8 miles from this lava tube. Too bad the owners of the entrance charge an Arm and a Leg for entry 😢🤙🏼

[@pelewaieveisreal6449]

There are many many entrances! 😊

[@danielskomp9072]

There are numerous entries

[@phonehenge]

I found a lava tube on the big island that has five skeletons in it. Ceremoniously put there. Supposedly the flow was from 1950. I took plenty of photographs.

[@StuffandThings_]

You would think that this eruption would have served as a pretty good warning for people to NOT build anywhere near Kilauea, as it can dump massive amounts of lava very far from the summit or even the rift zones. If anything it was lucky that Leilani Estates was a relatively minor eruption by comparison. Kilauea and Mauna Loa are absolute beasts that seem to be consistently underestimated by far too many people, thankfully fairly harmless to life (for a massive highly active volcano at least) but certainly not so to property.

[@mamandapanda185]

You should see the story behind Hualalai

[@DanielBerke]

Economic forces, I'm afraid. People (at least locals) are very aware, but land in Puna is the cheapest on the island. And with housing prices in Hawaii being among the highest in the US, it's the only place a lot of people can afford to live.

[@StuffandThings_]

@@DanielBerke I would've thought that a lot of the rural land around the quite safe Kohala would be reasonably priced though? What about rural areas on other islands? And even so, why would people be so keen on expanding the infrastructure around Puna with such high risks so well known? I know willingly taking such a risk was part of it, but this seems like a situation where there are definitely alternatives.

[@DanielBerke]

​@@StuffandThings_ I don't know for sure, but I can speculate: For one thing, "reasonably priced" in Hawaii is the rest of the country's "insanely expensive". Looking at Kohala, much of the wet side is in a natural area reserve (and all of it is cut by huge, steep valleys and lots of waterways, making building there more difficult). The dry side has homes ranging from $350k up to over a million dollars, which is _far_ beyond the reach of the vast majority of people on the island. (I have a job that requires a PhD, and *I* don't make enough to buy one of them.) With the eruption of 2018 and the pandemic the supply of houses on the island is _vastly_ below where it should be to keep up with demand, and the cost of shipping building components means any newly-built ones can't be much less expensive. (Also, I don't know if this is specifically the case, but a lot of the land around Waimea is owned by private ranches, who may just not be interested in selling to build houses.) Plus, Kohala is hours away from the two main urban areas on the island (Hilo and Kona), which means less access to various services. (Most of Puna, in contrast, is less than an hour from Hilo.) I can't speak about rural areas on other islands, but jobs are not equally transferrable. If you're a medical professional, for instance, there are a lot more jobs in Hilo and Kona than there are going to be in rural Moloka'i or Lana'i. And if your job is in Hilo, Puna may be the only place you can find/afford to live. (Plus, family ties may limit how far people are willing to move.) Even relatively transferrable jobs can only hold so many people in low-population areas. It's easy to wonder why people don't just move away from dangerous volcanoes; now imagine that your family has lived in the same area for multiple generations (maybe passing down a family business), you've spent your entire life growing up there, all your family and friends are there, and, for a lot of people, that you have a most a bachelor's degree or high school diploma so there may be monetary considerations as well. There can be a lot of factors keeping people in place.

[@TheNaught1]

Having rented in Puna, I’d suggest people are well aware of the risks, but for several valid reasons choose to live there anyway. Roots, for one. And economic pressures, for sure. Plus, it’s beautiful and lush. Hard to say no to that.

[@BongoFerno]

Apollo 15 landed aside a collapsed lava tube, 1 kilometer wide, and a quarter kilometer deep, called Rima Hadley Rille. There are spectacular photographs taken, one of which shows the collapsed front of hte tube, hiding a giant cave behind (non visible, and non visited). Some day a moon city will exist inside the cave.

[@nortyfiner]

I wonder what sort of ecosystems could develop in such places.

[@GeologyHub]

I was able to find mentions of at least 1 unique moth species within the cave complex.

[@flamencoprof]

See newer comment from @johnwalters1341

[@pelewaieveisreal6449]

Some scientists discovered the blind cricket when I was a kid. They used our entrance for research, pretty cool stuff. I spent a lot of time down there 😅

[@Dranzerk8908]

Do they have any idea what % chance the Kilauea crater will change again drastically? I know flank eruptions happen, but can that lead to a actual new crater..

[@markthacker7214]

100%. Kilauea is still young and features like calderas will continually form and re-form for hundreds of thousands of years yet.

[@mamandapanda185]

It dropped about 1,000' in a little over 2 years from the 2018 series of events and has since been filled up mostly again. I forget how much it widened. A lot. One of the roads now dangles on its sidewall.

[@richardgardnerwh6lu15]

I live about 1/4 mile from a entrance, been through about a mile and it was awesome...

[@anthonyloconte7835]

This isn't open to the public. If I recall correctly the access is on private land. Still pretty cool though.

[@RoseNZieg]

I'm sure there are other entrances as the roof tends to collapse. you might have to ask around though.

[@anthonyloconte7835]

@@RoseNZieg there are at least 3 that I am aware of. I lived there for two years and would hear stories but never actually found an entrance.

[@wolfmama7879]

The lava tube runs under the entire chain of the islands of Hawaii parts of the tube are not open to the public because of the location and some of them are located on islands that are inhabited by people. One of the islands is named Mars because of its unique red sand surface and its unique habitat of plants that are found there thriving in the soils of the lava tube and surrounding areas of the volcanic rock.

[@anthonyloconte7835]

@@wolfmama7879 You are talking about Maui and Haleakala.

[@jayteah1349]

I just found out that for thousands of years Hawaiians have used Lava Tubes with runners to quickly transport information between villages on the islands

[@confuseatronica]

seems like it would be easy to find more tubes with seismic or GPR- unlike a lot of things people use gpr for this is empty tunnels, so it should show up really well, right?

[@carolynrose9522]

Queensland's tubes and lava caves are big too

[@TheNaught1]

So yeah, it formed not super long ago, was the largest, longest eruption, and drained after the magma feed pinched off, and now we can access it? Isn’t there change in the current magma chamber right now? Seems like an amazingly cool but risky place? Do lava tubes ever re-flow?

[@nagasako7]

So basically if you walk up hill in Kilauea lava tube, you are walking towards the magma reservoir 😂

[@GreatGray8790]

Thank you!

[@StuffandThings_]

How many lava tubes are buried deep, deep underground from successive lava flows? I'd imagine there are some very long, deep ones out there that just have yet to be discovered. Or will they inevitably cave in by that time, or just get filled in by such future lava flows that would otherwise bury them? Fascinating to think about.

[@mamandapanda185]

People on the island basically live on top of swiss cheese.

[@Dragrath1]

Statistically speaking yeah most if not all such features are going to get filled in not long after formation at least assuming the volcano in question continues to pile up rock and erosion and tectonic forces continue to act on it. In time gravity will ultimately win as voids slowly get filled in which along with sedimentation deposition and eventual compaction is one of the mechanisms which leads to oceanic slabs becoming dense enough they start to sink back into the mantle. If memory serves there was a video on this channel about a cave which may be an Ordovician age lava tube which has been re-exposed by erosion but that has the benefit of being supported by buoyant continental crust which the big island does not having already sagged a few kilometers into the mantle due to the weight of piled up cold basaltic rock. Against those kinds of forces its hard to envision a lava tube surviving all that long.

[@Vesuviusisking]

Which volcano has the best history

[@BongoFerno]

Vesuvius erupted, 2000 years ago, burying an entire roman city, and preserving it, so it can be visited today, and seen exactly as it was on the ancient world. The graffiti on the wall can be read, and the porn painted on it watched.

[@kauimanera726]

As a native Hawaiian, I’d appreciate the narrator to pronounce the Hawaiian words correctly, the Kazamura lava tube sounds off. However, the history and info were awesome.

[@chimknee]

Thanks.

[@filipesiegrist]

Thanks please do the following volcanoes Agung Aconcagua (extinct) Trindade (maybe extinct) Semeru Pico do Fogo

[@digitaldreamer5481]

In the case of Leilani Estates in 2018, that destroyed over 700 homes, 600 of which burned down in one night, I wonder if the lava flows in 2018 could of been redirected through this lava tube to save all those homes? 😮

[@Aztesticals]

It would have cost such a large amount and required large amounts kf heavy equipment ro be shipped in at extreme expense. I'm not sure I image possible so deflection but that was a lot of a long continued eruptio

[@timhazeltine3256]

Not possible or even prudent because even if it was possible to redirect the flow, which it's not, the lava would still have devastated other communities.

[@mamandapanda185]

I don't recall 600 in one night, and I have a little too good of a recollection of it.

[@sigisoltau6073]

I doubt that would have worked, just for the distance alone, and because it may have had to go uphill in places.

[@digitaldreamer5481]

@@mamandapanda185 That’s because you didn’t experience it, and/or wasn’t there…😢

[@jokerace8227]

Yes, I believe there are undiscovered lava tubes in SE Idaho between Island Park and Craters of the Moon. (ツ) ☕☕(ツ)

[@DavidJoyisquality]

Their for sure is. That is the path of the massive Yellowstone caldera that originally started in oregon.

[@NathanMyers-c8y]

The Big Island has very strict requirements for home septic systems. However, where the lot happens to have a lava tube running under it, plumbers there routinely sign off on a pipe dumping raw sewage straight into it.

[@AstonMartin427]

Would that cause plumbing issues to the house above it though or health issues from gas that might escape into the house?

[@anthonyloconte7835]

I am not aware of a single home or contractor dumping sewage into Lava tubes. This would get them fined and thrown in prison.

[@Zoomer-te9us]

@@anthonyloconte7835 Yea a scare tactic for sure.

[@lindaorr1805]

When it comes to lava tubes I am In aw as in what happened to the mass that was in it it just boggles the mind yea I know but still it was full at some point with lava 😎✌👍

[@ThatOpalGuy]

anyone remember the brady bunch episode?

[@jmorin6620]

Yup! A fun, long episode!

[@BrayArvin]

827 Hettinger Vista

[@mamandapanda185]

eye-la-ow

[@TomJudith-z8s]

83195 Shana Centers

[@GeorgeLoya-d1j]

Edward Streets

[@GroovlyDo]

Battle of the lava tubes, Undara QLD claims to be the longest "of their kind" in the world - I don't know the different kinds 😆

[@sanzeakatesoul]

ʻAilāʻau, is pronounced eye-lah-ow

[@jayjaynella4539]

Looks like good places to hide in a nuclear or land war.

[@Zoomer-te9us]

most likely not. mortars going off would close you in down there.

[@alexserrano5367]

The elvish dwarfs built them .

[@CANNABISfreedomNOtaxes]

Elvish dwarves? Those two species don't exactly get along. I've never heard of them crossbreeding.

[@timhazeltine3256]

The little residents of Hawai'i Ala are the Menehune.