Welcome to the Cave Conservancy of Hawaii
2008 January Field Work Blog - Most recent events first...Click on links for earlier reports...Online donation and renewal drive is underway. Contribute directly via Visa, MC or Discover on a special one-step secure form or by check to the CCH box. So far $1800.00 has been raised during this fund drive.
Easy Donation Form - January Fund Drive

Week One... Lava Tube Science Projects and CCH Gathering at Annual Meeting

Week Two... Discovery, Exploration, Mapping and Documentation

Emily and Faye formed a two person team to survey a newly discovered addition of about 1000 feet to Maelstrom Cave.

Here's Faye going through the connection in Maelstrom on the GI survey. This was her first experience on book. A plastic sheet makes squeezing possible on the rough lava.

Briefly into the sunlight.

The third week is wrapping up, which will bring to an end the most active period of work in the vicinity of Kipuka Kanohina. This year, over 2 miles of lava tube have been indentified as being a portion of what is now a more than 21 mile system. In one week alone, 18 survey parties added nearly 2 miles in this one section.

Steve Lewis stands in natural light during survey in yet more easy walking passage.

Steve looks down into a puka with a 10 foot drop down to more passage, yet to be documented.

Friday January 25 was a photo day. Faye brought a lot of high end photo gear, and used Emily and Ken as photo sherpas to document the upper end of Xanadu. Cave survey totals to date include 16 team days surveying for a total of 1.8 miles in Xanadu! In addition survey has been completed off the bottom of Maelstrom and in the bottom of Cordwinder. Total for the expedition is over 2 miles added to the system, with several days of survey remaining. Here's Faye with her Nikon. Ken setting up for the next shot.

The Xanadu mapping continued in force. Total survey is somewhere around 7000 feet, now connecting to a contiguous system of over 21 miles with over 26 miles in passage documented in total. This significantly extends this second longest documented lava tube system in the world. Of particular interest is that this newly described passage is largely under a'a' flow. Breakdown and collapse are minimal in many areas. Other areas are very large by regional standards, with passages greater than 40 feet wide and 12-18 feet tall. So far there have been no observation of archeological artifacts. Given the size and extent of passage this is atypical for this system. Many of the tubes in the region were heavily travelled with much evidence of charcoal from lighting and rocks used as cradles for collecting water in gourds.

Larry Flemming and Emily Davis relax in what is medium sized passage in Xanadu.

Associated with larger passages are a series of smaller winding tubes that intersect the main drainage system.

Week Three is off to a good start, with much to follow...

Faye Litherland does a ladder climb to check leads near the top of Xanadu. The connection to Maelstrom Cave was found at a lower level very near this location.

Ken admires flow patterns.

Faye in one of the few squeezes in cleaning up documentation in the upper portion of Xanadu on Wednesday January 23.

These helectites are in a small tube on a long side passage in Xanadu. Notice the lava stalagmites below formed from dripping stone. A small lip balm container gives scale.

Join the CCH (online) on the Big Island this month!

The Cave Conservancy of Hawai`i is a 501(c)-3 tax-exempt organization. It is registered in the state of Hawai`i as a non-profit corporation and is a conservancy of the National Speleological Society.


This site copyright © 2003-2004 by the Cave Conservancy of Hawai`i, Incorporated. PO Box 7032, Ocean View, HI 96737.
All rights reserved.