Littoral Cone
Photograph by J.D. Griggs, U.S. Geological Survey, October 5, 1988.
A littoral cone is a "cone formed on a lava flow when it runs into a body of water, usually the sea. Such cones are the
result of steam explosions that hurl into the air large amounts of ash, lapilli,
and small bombs derived from the new lava" (Bates and Jackson, 1980, p. 365).
During the Kupaianaha eruption, lava tubes advanced to the coastal area
of the park and dumped lava into the ocean. The resulting steam explosions generated spatter, limu o Pele, and Pele's hair that accumulated on the sea cliff to make a littoral cone. This photo
shows a littoral cone that formed in October 1988. Lava from the tube added new land, extending the coastline and isolating
the littoral cone. Subsequent slumping of the new land produced the low fault scarp in front of the cone. Fresh lava flows
covered the down-dropped area. The yellow areas near the cone are covered by sulfur that precipitated from volcanic
gases.
