Kazumura Cave facts for kids

These arched passages show the classic shape of a lava tube. The floor was once a crust on a lava lake that fell in when the lava drained away.

This round pool formed when a lava lake drained. The lavafall in the background was the source of the lava.

Look at this "forest" of delicate tree roots inside the main part of Kazumura Cave!

Kazumura Cave is a giant lava tube located on the island of Hawaiʻi. It's known as the longest and deepest lava tube in the entire world! This amazing cave stretches for about 40.7 miles (65.5 km) and goes down to a depth of 3,614 feet (1,102 m). You can find it on the eastern side of Kīlauea, which is the most active volcano on the Big Island. Kazumura Cave was formed by the ʻAilāʻau lava flow, which happened around 500 years ago from the Kīlauea Iki Crater.

What is a Lava Tube?

A lava tube is like a natural tunnel formed by flowing lava. Imagine hot, gooey lava flowing downhill. The outer parts of the lava flow cool down and harden first, creating a crust. But the lava inside keeps flowing, like a river. When the lava inside drains away, it leaves behind an empty tunnel – a lava tube! Kazumura Cave is a perfect example of this process.

Discovering Kazumura Cave

People have known about parts of Kazumura Cave for a long time. One of the first official mentions of the cave was in 1966. At that time, one of its entrances was even marked as a fallout shelter.

In the early 1970s, the cave started to get attention from people who explore caves, called cavers. A scientist named Francis Howarth found new kinds of tiny animals living only in the cave. One of these new species was a special insect called Schrankia howarthi.

Later, in 1981, a team from Britain explored and mapped out a big part of the cave. They surveyed about 7.27 miles (11.7 km) of passages. This made Kazumura Cave famous as one of the longest lava tubes in the world.

Connecting the Giant Cave

By 1993, after a lot more exploration, Kazumura Cave was officially named the longest lava tube on Earth. Originally, what we now call Kazumura Cave was actually two separate caves. They were known as Upper Kazumura and Old Kazumura.

Two explorers, Kevin Allred and Mike Meyer, found a small connection between these two caves. They worked to make this small opening big enough to pass through. This was a huge step in connecting the two caves into one giant system.

More connections were made over time. For example, Paradise Park Cave was linked to Kazumura through a pile of broken rocks. A special pipe was even put in place to keep that passage stable. Another cave called Sexton Cave was found nearby. Its end was very close to the beginning of Kazumura. After a lot of digging through hard black lava rock, Kevin Allred and Mike Shambaugh finally connected these two caves.

Then, Kevin and Carlene Allred mapped the combined caves. They found a total of 29.32 miles (47.19 km) of passages. This made it the longest lava tube in the world at that time!

Mapping the Entire System

The exploration didn't stop there. Another cave called Ola'a Cave was located uphill. It was almost connected to Sexton Cave, but a wall of black lava rock blocked the way. In 1995, Kevin Allred and Mike Shambaugh managed to connect Ola'a Cave to Kazumura.

Smaller caves near Old Kazumura were also linked up. These included Hawaiian Acres #1, Fern's Cave, and Doc Bellou Caves. The last two are connected by a very tight crawlway.

Kevin and Carlene Allred carefully recorded all their work in a special book called the Kazumura Cave Atlas. This book has a complete map of every passage in Kazumura Cave. As of 2002, the Atlas listed the total length of the cave system as 40.77 miles (65.61 km). It also showed that the cave stretches for about 20.05 miles (32.23 km) in a straight line.

Visiting Kazumura Cave

The Kazumura Cave Atlas lists 101 different entrances to the cave. All of these entrances are on private land. In Hawaii, you need to ask the landowners for permission before you can enter any lava tubes on their property. Some landowners even offer paid tours through their sections of the cave, so people can experience this amazing natural wonder!