Kilauea after the eruption of March, 1886. III. Communication to Prof. W.D. Aleander. Surveyor general of the Hawaian Islands: On the survey of Kilauea in the last week of September and the first of October, 1886

Abstract

Dodge describes Kilauea caldera in October 1886, comparing its appearance with that described by Emerson (1887) 6 months earlier. The cone of loose blocks observed in Halemaumau in July by Van Slyke (1887) was still present, with a deep pit in its center, rising at a rate of about 1 ft per day. The moat between this cone and the outer walls of Halemaumau pit was being gradually filled with flows of pahoehoe, which had covered all traces of the black ledge and other features present on earlier maps. Dodge describes the domical nature of the caldera floor and estimates the relief from center to crater walls at 75-163 ft. He gives a good description of features on the caldera floor and notes the depths of Kilauea Iki and Keanakakoi craters, and includes a sketch map of the caldera.