FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF WINTER WEARY AMERICANS, THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ARE A REFUGE, A TROPICAL PARADISE WITH PALM STREWN BEACHES, COFFEE PLANTATIONS, UNDERWATER MARINE LIFE AND VOLCANOES WHERE THEY CAN WATCH NEW LAND BEING CREATED BEFORE THEIR VERY EYES.

FUNDING FOR IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN WAS PROVIDED BY AGNES HAURY.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] THERE'S A PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES WHERE NEW LAND IS BEING FORMED EVERY DAY.

IT'S A PLACE WHERE LAVA MEETS THE OCEAN IN A VIOLENT COLLISION.

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NUMBER OVER 100.

ALL WERE CREATED BY VOLCANOES.

SOME OF THEM ARE SLOWLY BEING CONSUMED.

ONE IS GROWING.

ONLY FOUR OF THE UNITED STATES BOAST VOLCANOES.

HAWAII'S ARE MORE ACTIVE THAN ALL OF THE OTHERS COMBINED.

THE KILAUEA CRATER IS ABOUT THREE MILES ACROSS.

IT'S OBVIOUSLY GOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF ACTIVITY IN IT AND IT LOOKS AS IF IN THE BOTTOM IF YOU WERE STEP IN IT YOU WOULD JUST FALL INTO THE MOLTEN LAVA.

IT'S NOT, IT'S ACTUALLY SOLID BUT HERE ON THE EDGE, HERE WE ARE AND AT THE TOP OF THE CRATER STEAM IS STILL POURING OUT.

IT'S GOT A LITTLE BIT OF SULFUR IN IT, IT COULD MAKE YOU CHOKE A LITTLE BIT BUT IT ALMOST MAKES YOU WONDER IF THE WHOLE THING COULDN'T GO AT ANY TIME.

THE THING THAT SETS HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK OFF FROM ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD TO ME IS JUST THE PLAIN AWESOMENESS OF THIS AREA.

AND WHEN I SAY THAT I MEAN THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ERUPTION IS ALWAYS THERE.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

LIKE FOR INSTANCE, WHAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE WITH THIS.

MAYBE SOMEDAY LAVA WILL JUST FILL UP THE CRATER THAT YOU SEE OR MAYBE SOMEDAY IT'LL COME FLYING OUT AND WHO KNOWS WHAT THAT'LL DO.

THIS ISLAND IS APPROXIMATELY 750,000 YEARS OLD, NOT EVEN A MILLION YEARS OLD MOST GEOLOGISTS BELIEVE.

SO IT'S THE YOUNGEST OF ALL THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

IT HAS THREE ACTIVE VOLCANOES ON THIS ISLAND.

THERE IS A TOTAL OF FIVE VOLCANOES ON THE ISLAND AND THE OTHER TWO ARE DORMANT, MAUNA KEA AND KOHALA.

THE ACTIVE VOLCANOES BEING HUALALAI, MAUNA LOA AND KILAUEA.

PELÉ IS THE GODDESS OF THE VOLCANO.

PELÉ IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEE HERE.

SHE EMBODIES THE VOLCANO IN ALL OF THE LAVA FORMS THAT ARE AROUND HERE.

BUT WHAT SHE'S REALLY DOING IS SHE'S BUILDING THIS ISLAND UP FOR HER PEOPLE.

SHE'S THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HERE, IN THE ROCKS, ALL THE FORMATIONS, THAT'S ALL PELÉ, NOT JUST THE LAVA FLOWS.

PELÉ ORIGINALLY COMES FROM BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA.

THAT'S WHERE SHE ORIGINATED FROM AND SHE HAS A VERY LONG HISTORY.

SHE'S A VERY RAGING WOMAN, JUST THROWS FIRE EVERYWHERE AND FINALLY SHE ENDED UP IN HAWAII AND SHE ENDED IN KAUAI ON MT.

WAIALEALE AND SHE WAS CAUSING SO MUCH TROUBLE THEN.

AND THEN SHE WENT MOUNTAIN TO MOUNTAIN TO MOUNTAIN TRYING TO FIND HERSELF A HOME.

FINALLY SHE FOUND HER HOME IN KILAUEA WHERE SHE STILL RESIDES AND CAUSING TROUBLE, MAKING LAND AND STOMPING GROUND AND A LOT OF LAVA FLOWS AND A LOT OF DRAMA AND ACTION.

THAT'S PELÉ.

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WORKS VERY CLOSE WITH THE HAWAII VOLCANO OBSERVATORY AND THAT'S WHERE ALL THE VOLCANOLOGISTS AND GEOLOGISTS ARE CONSTANTLY MONITORING KILAUEA, MAUNA LOA, ALL THE VOLCANOES IN HAWAII FOR THAT MATTER.

THEY ALSO CONTRIBUTE VOLCANIC INFORMATION, IN FACT INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATORIES LOCATED ALL AROUND THE PACIFIC OCEAN SO THEY DO A LOT OF IMPORTANT WORK HERE.

BUT BASICALLY THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WHEN THEY'RE MONITORING VOLCANOES IS THEY'RE WATCHING FOR SEISMIC ACTIVITY WHICH OF COURSE ARE EARTHQUAKES.

HERE IN HAWAII THAT MEANS THAT MAGMA IS WELLING UP IN THE ROCKS.

THE SECOND THING THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IS THE GAS GEO-CHEMISTRY OF THE AREA, SO WHAT KINDS OF GASES ARE COMING OUT OF ALL THE HOLES AND CRACKS AROUND HERE.

IS IT STEAM OR IS IT SULFUR DIOXIDE OR CARBON DIOXIDE.

HOT SPOTS ARE WEAK SPOTS IN THE EARTH'S CRUST.

ON AVERAGE THE EARTH'S CRUST IS APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES THICK OR SO.

AROUND HERE GEOLOGISTS AT HAWAII VOLCANO OBSERVATORY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE REPORTED THAT THEY'VE SEEN THAT THE EARTH'S CRUST IS ONLY ABOUT SIX TO EIGHT MILES THICK.

AND THEN FINALLY THE LAST THING THEY'RE MEASURING HERE, THE HAWAII VOLCANO OBSERVATORY IS MEASURING THE TILT WHICH IS LITERALLY HOW MUCH IS THE GROUND IN A SUSPECTED AREA OF AN ERUPTION, HOW MUCH IS IT RISING OR HOW MUCH IS IT FALLING, INFLATING AND DEFLATING.

AND THAT'S BASICALLY LIKE THE VOLCANO IS BUILDING PRESSURE UP AND RELEASING THAT PRESSURE.

HERE AT ABOUT 4,000 FEET AT THE EDGE OF KILAUEA CRATER THEY GET ABOUT 80 INCHES OF RAINFALL A YEAR.

WITH THAT KIND OF RAINFALL YOU'D THINK YOU WOULD FIND MORE JUNGLE-Y CONDITIONS IN THIS TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT BUT THE VOLCANIC ROCK IS TERRIBLE SOIL FOR PLANTS TO GROW IN.

THEY HAVE TO ADAPT THEMSELVES SO ALL THESE TREES, ALL THESE BUSHES, THESE FERNS, THESE FLOWERS, EACH OF THEM HAS HAD TO DO THEIR OWN SPECIAL ADAPTATION AND EACH OF THEM IS A STORY IN EVOLUTION.

SEEING ALL THAT STEAM AND THOSE AEROSOLS OF SULFUR JUST SHOOTING OUT OF THE CRATER AT KILAUEA GETS MY BLOOD RACING.

WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE GLOW YET BUT THERE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT, I'VE HEARD, AND THERE IS A FELLOW, HIS NAME IS KEN HAHN AND HE'S A HAWAIIAN VOLCANOLOGIST.

WE'RE GOING TO MEET UP WITH HIM AND HE SAYS THAT HE MAY BE ABLE TO TAKE US AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO SEE THE REAL LIVE MOVING RED GLOWING LAVA.

HAWAII IS A BIG ISLAND.

THE NEWER LAVA FLOWS ARE ON THE EAST SIDE.

ON THE WEST SIDE ARE ONE OF PELÉ'S GIFTS, SOILS FROM OLDER LAVAS IDEAL FOR COFFEE.

HAWAII HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR AGES FOR PINEAPPLES AND SUGAR BUT NOW IT'S EVEN BETTER KNOWN FOR COFFEE, KONA COFFEE WHICH COMES FROM THE WEST SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND AND THE REASON THIS IS SUCH A GOOD COFFEE PRODUCING AREA IS BECAUSE THE LAVA WHEN IT BREAKS DOWN PROVIDES THE PERFECT SOIL FOR GROWING COFFEE AND THESE BEANS, ONCE THEY ARE CRUSHED AND THEN THE BEAN OF THE SEED INSIDE ROASTED WILL MAKE THE BEST COFFEE YOU HAVE EVER TASTED.

THE EXPECTATIONS OF KONA COFFEE SHOULD BE VERY, VERY SMOOTH.

IT ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT HAVE A BITE.

ACIDITY LEVELS ARE AT AN ALL TIME LOW AND JUST A VERY SMOOTH, EASY TASTING COFFEE.

THAT'S THE MAIN CHARACTERISTIC OF KONA COFFEE.

IF YOU DRINK MEDIUM ROAST, ONE CUP, YOU WILL BE UP ALL DAY BECAUSE IT'S THE FULLY LOADED, HIGHEST CAFFEINE.

DARK ROAST YOU CAN HAVE ABOUT THREE CUPS AND IT HAS A LOT LESS CAFFEINE.

AND ESPRESSO YOU CAN HAVE ABOUT SIX CUPS AND IT HAS ALMOST NO CAFFEINE.

OH, THAT'S AWFULLY GOOD.

THANK YOU.

BUT THIS IS MEDIUM ROAST SO I'M GOING TO BE AWAKE FOR AWHILE YOU TOLD ME?

I HOPE SO.

SOMETIMES I THINK THAT MY BRAIN ISN'T WORKING AS WELL AS IT SHOULD.

WILL THAT HELP MY BRAIN?

YES, MOST DEFINITELY.

KONA COFFEE BRINGS VERY GOOD PRICES ON THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET SO IT GOES ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THE MAINLAND UNITED STATES IS THE BIGGEST CONSUMER BUT PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD NOW WANT KONA COFFEE BECAUSE IT IS SO GOOD AND THEY SAY SO GOOD FOR YOU.

HAWAII ISLAND IS THE YOUNGEST OF THE WHOLE CHAIN AND IT'S STILL GROWING.

THIS IS THE ONLY ISLAND THAT HAS THE VOLCANO THAT'S ACTIVELY FLOWING.

IN FACT AS WE SPEAK PELÉ IS DANCING UP IN KILAUEA.

AND THE OLDEST IS KAUAI AND AS YOU GO DOWN THE CHAIN IT COMES TO THIS ISLAND.

THIS IS ALSO THE LARGEST ISLAND.

IT HAS MANY NICKNAMES.

IT'S CALLED THE VOLCANIC ISLAND, IT IS CALLED ORCHID ISLAND BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO GO TO HILO YOU'LL SEE ORCHIDS GROWING WILD EVERYWHERE.

IT'S MADE OF FIVE LARGE VOLCANOES, THIS ISLAND.

WE HAVE MAUNA KEA, WHICH IS SNOW COVERED MOUNTAINS.

IN FACT IT'S SNOWING RIGHT NOW.

MAUNA LOA, THE LARGEST DORMANT VOLCANO, JUST PERIODICALLY BLOWS UP ON THE SIDES OF THE HILL.

AND THEN WE HAVE KOHALA AND HUALALAI AND KILAUEA.

KILAUEA IS THE MOST ACTIVE AND IT'S BEEN CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING SINCE 1986 I THINK.

IT'S DIFFICULT TO STATE EXACTLY THE AREA IN SQUARE MILES OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII IN THE STATE OF HAWAII, THE BIG ISLAND.

THE LAVA FLOWS THAT CONTINUALLY SEEM TO BE COMING OFF THE SIDES OF THE GREAT VOLCANOES, ENTER THE OCEAN AND ARE ALWAYS CREATING MORE LAND.

WE SEE THE CRATER IN KILAUEA WITH HUGE AMOUNTS OF STEAM AND ITS AEROSOLS OF SULFUR COMING OUT AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S LAVA DOWN THERE.

WHAT WE HAVEN'T QUITE SEEN YET IS THE GLOW, THE GLOW OF FRESH LAVA, MOVING LAVA, MAGMA COMING TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH AND THAT FOR SOMEONE INTERESTED IN VOLCANOES IS THE MOST EXCITING THING YOU CAN POSSIBLY SEE.

THIS LAVA FLOW IN 2003 CREPT DOWN THE HILLSIDE, WAS VERY CLOSELY WATCHED BY JUST ABOUT EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY CIVIL AUTHORITIES BECAUSE WHEN IT REACHED RIGHT HERE, IT CUT OFF THE MAIN ROAD THAT CONNECTS NORTHEASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII, THE BIG ISLAND.

NOWHERE ELSE IN THE AMERICAS HAS MY ROUTE BEEN BLOCKED BY LAVA FLOWS.

THE VOLCANOLOGIST I'M DUE TO MEET IS WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE.

HAWAIIAN LAVAS ARE SOME OF THE MOST FLUID LAVAS THAT ERUPT ON THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH AND WHEN THEY COME UP, NORMALLY THEY FLOW IN OPEN CHANNELS AS THEY MOVE AWAY FROM THE VENT AND THIS ALLOWS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HEAT TO BE RELEASED OFF THE TOP OF THE OPEN CHANNEL.

SO THEY CAN DO ONE OF TWO THINGS.

THEY CAN SOLIDIFY AND QUIT FLOWING BUT IF THE ERUPTION HASN'T STOPPED THE LAVA HAS TO GO SOMEPLACE OR THEY CAN START TO CRUST OVER.

AND HERE WITH PAHOEHOE FLOWS WHAT WE SEE IS THAT THE CHANNELS CRUST OVER TO FORM A LAVA TUBE AND THAT CRUST THICKENS WITH TIME IN A VERY REGULAR BASIS AND IT MAKES ESSENTIALLY LIKE PUTTING A QUILT OVER YOU ON A COLD NIGHT OR SOMETHING.

IT KEEPS THE LAVA VERY WARM AND SO WE'RE STANDING HERE AT THE OCEAN ENTRY ABOUT 11 OR 12 KILOMETERS FROM THE VENT AND THE LAVA'S ONLY DROPPED MAYBE ABOUT FIVE DEGREES CENTIGRADE WHICH IS MAYBE ABOUT TEN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT ON THAT TRIP OF 11 KILOMETERS BECAUSE IT'S MOVING ENTIRELY THROUGH THIS SUBTERRANEAN CAVE SYSTEM.

THE BASALTS IN THIS FLOW ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT'S CALLED PAHOEHOE.

IT'S A HAWAIIAN TERM FOR THE KIND OF LAVA THAT'S FAIRLY SMOOTH.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY WALK ACROSS THIS WITHOUT MUCH OF A PROBLEM AND THE TEXTURE ALMOST GLISTENS AT TIMES.

YOU CAN RUN YOUR HAND OVER THE TOP AND IT FEELS MORE OR LESS SMOOTH.

IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS WHERE THE FLOWS FROM KILAUEA ARE ENTERING THE OCEAN.

THIS FLOW IS CONTINUING AS OF LATE 2008.

THE OLDER FLOWS, 10, 20, 30, 40 OR 50 YEARS LOOK AS THOUGH THEY JUST CAME OUT YESTERDAY BUT ALL OF THEM ARE PART OF NATURE'S WAY, OF VOLCANO'S WAY OF CREATING NEW LAND IN HAWAII.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE GOT A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING ON HERE IN THE LAST 20 YEARS WAS HOW NEW LAND ACTUALLY BUILDS IN AN ERUPTION.

PREVIOUS ERUPTIONS EITHER HAD VERY LIMITED ENTRIES OF LAVA TIME WISE, THEY'D ONLY GO IN FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR THE ACCESS WAS HORRIBLE.

YOU HAD TO WALK FOR MILES AND MILES TO DO IT.

HERE IN THIS ERUPTION THE ACCESS TO THE VENT HAS BEEN HORRIBLE BUT THE ACCESS TO THE OCEAN HAS BEEN FANTASTIC.

SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CHANCES TO COME DOWN HERE AND WATCH THIS PROCESS OF NEW LAND FORMATION THAT OTHER GEOLOGISTS HAVEN'T HAD BEFORE.

PAHOEOE CAN SOMETIMES GET WHAT LOOKS LIKE ALMOST A SILKY TEXTURE BUT SOMETIMES AS THOUGH IT'S TOOTHPASTE SQUEEZED OUT OF TUBE.

GEOLOGISTS WITH THEIR WONDERFUL WAY WITH WORDS REFER TO THIS FORMATION AS ROPEY PAHOEHOE.

WHEN WE ACTUALLY GOT LOOKING AT IT WHAT WE WOULD SEE IS THAT WHEN LAVA FIRST GOES INTO THE OCEAN IT FRACTURES AND MAKES SAND AND THAT SAND BUILDS A NEW BEACH AT THE BASE OF THE CLIFFS.

THE LAVA THEN GOES OVER THE CLIFFS AND FOLLOWS THAT BEACH SIDEWAYS SO IT BUILDS A LITTLE STRIP OF LAND.

THAT LAND INFLATES AND BUILDS UP AND THEN IT BREAKS OUT AND IT STARTS FRAGMENTING AND BUILDS ANOTHER BEACH OUT IN FRONT OF IT AND SO LAVA WILL BREAK OUT OF THAT AND DO IT AND EVENTUALLY IT WILL PLATE UP TO THE HEIGHT OF THE OLD CLIFFS.

WHEN IT DOES THAT, THE OCEAN IS COOLING THE LAVA SO THAT COOLING ACTUALLY CHILLS IT AND KIND OF CLOGS THE TUBES NEAR THE FRONT AND THAT CAUSES PRESSURE TO BUILD BACK IN THE TUBE SYSTEM AND BREAK OUTS START TO MIGRATE BACK FROM THE TUBE SYSTEM BACK INLAND.

THOSE BREAK OUTS THEN COME OVER THE CLIFF IN NEW PLACES AND START NEW ENTRIES SO WE GET THE SAME WINDSHIELD WIPER EFFECT BUT WITH A VERY DIFFERENT PROCESS.

IF WE HAD BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE BEEN HERE IN THE LATE 1960S AND LOOKED UP AT THIS HILLSIDE, THIS EDGE OF A CLIFF WHICH IS ABOUT A THOUSAND FEET HIGH, WE WOULD HAVE SEEN A CASCADE OF LAVA THAT ILLUMINATED THE COUNTRYSIDE FOR MANY MILES AROUND AND THEN GRADUALLY THE FLOW WOULD COME DOWN AND THAT INCANDESCENCE, THAT BRILLIANT RED FIERY COLOR WOULD MOVE NOT REAL FAST BUT SLOWLY TOWARD THIS, WHERE THIS HIGHWAY IS NOW AND ULTIMATELY WE WOULD HAVE SEEN IT REACH THE SEA.

AND MY GUESS IS THAT PROBABLY 20,000 YEARS AGO WHERE I'M STANDING WAS PROBABLY A PART OF THE OCEAN, NOT DRY LAND.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHERE A LAVA TUBE GOES UNDERNEATH THE HARDENED LAVA, IT'S NOT REALLY THAT OBVIOUS ON THE SURFACE WHEN YOU WALK OVER IT.

IT'S NOT THAT MUCH HOTTER, USUALLY ONLY MAYBE A HALF A DEGREE CENTIGRADE SO MOST PEOPLE CAN'T ACTUALLY DETECT IT, PARTICULARLY ON A SUNNY DAY YOU WON'T EVEN NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE IN TEMPERATURE WALKING OVER THE TOP OF THE TUBE.

SO WHAT THE TUBE IS ACTUALLY MARKED BY IS BY CRACKS THAT ARE ACTIVELY EMITTING VOLCANIC GAS AND THE GAS HAD KIND OF A BLUISH TINT BECAUSE IT'S GOT SULFUR DIOXIDE AND SULFUR TRIOXIDE IN IT SO WE SEE THIS BLUISH GAS COMING OUT OF THESE THINGS AND SO IT'S MOSTLY SULFUR DIOXIDE WITH A LITTLE BIT OF WATER VAPOR IN IT.

BUT THOSE GAS PLUMES MARK THE TRACK OF THE TUBE AND THEN THE OTHER WAY YOU CAN TELL IS THERE'S A LOT OF FRESH, WHITE, POWDERY MINERALS AND YELLOWISH MINERALS SO THERE'S SOME SULFUR MINERALS AND SOME SULFATE MINERALS THAT ARE DEPOSITED BY THAT GAS THAT ALSO MARK THE TRACK OF THE TUBE.

THE CONDITIONS AROUND THIS HUGE CLOUD OF GASES AND WATER VAPOR THAT'S COMING OUT WHERE THE LAVA HITS THE OCEAN CREATE THE SAME KIND OF CONDITIONS YOU HAVE IN TORNADOES ONLY IN THIS CASE IT'S A WATER SPOUT.

PARTS OF THE OCEAN ARE VERY HOT RIGHT NEAR WHERE THE LAVA HITS.

THE CLOUDS ARE HOT AND WHERE THEY HIT THE COLDER AIR YOU CAN GET THE SAME KIND OF CONVECTION THAT PRODUCES CLASSIC TORNADOES.

THIS LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN HAIR BUT IT'S ACTUALLY VOLCANIC GLASS.

IT'S CALLED PELÉ'S HAIR AND IT'S FORMED FROM MOLTEN ROCK THAT IS THROWN UP INTO THE AIR AS IT HITS THE OCEAN.

IT ACTUALLY CAN BE QUITE DANGEROUS AND SMALL PIECES OF IT CAN GET IN YOUR LUNGS AND YOUR NOSE AND YOUR FACE.

IT'S A REAL HAZARD OUT HERE ON THE LAVAS ON THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII.

VOLCANICS SEEN FROM THE GROUND ARE TERRIFIC BUT IF YOU WANT TO GET THE BIG PICTURE YOU NEED TO GET UP IN THE AIR AND HELICOPTER IS THE IDEAL WAY TO SEE IT.

YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY HOW THE FLOWS COME DOWN TO THE OCEAN, HOW THE LAVA IS ENTERING, WHERE THIS HUGE CLOUD COMES FROM.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE ORIGIN OF IT.

AND THEN YOU CAN LOOK UP AND SEE THE FLOWS, HOW THEY COME OUT OF THE VENT, COME DOWN THE HILLSIDE FOR 11 KILOMETERS.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE TUBES ARE BY THE FISHERS OF SMOKE.

YOU CAN EVEN FROM TIME TO TIME SEE LITTLE HOLES WHERE THE LAVA IS FLOWING IN THERE.

YOU HAVE A WINDOW RIGHT INTO IT WHERE THE TOP OF THE TUBE HAS COLLAPSED.

BACK IN 1969, THE SAME TIME THAT NEIL ARMSTRONG WAS THE FIRST HUMAN WALKING ON THE MOONSCAPE, MAUNA ULU, A VERY SMALL VOLCANO ERUPTED.

BOTH SIDES OF IT GAVE FORTH TO LAVA FLOWS OF DIFFERENT COMPOSITION AND THEY FLOWED DOWN THIS VALLEY ALL THE WAY TO SEA, PROBABLY ABOUT TEN MILES, AND BURNED EVERYTHING IN THE PATH AND SO HERE'S A FLOW THAT MUST BE CLOSE TO TWO MILES WIDE TAKING OUT EVERYTHING, COMPLETELY CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE OF HAWAII.

AND IF YOU IMAGINE THAT OVER THE LAST 750,000 YEARS THAT HAS HAPPENED 10,000, 20,000 TIMES IT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE CATACLYSMIC FORCES THAT SHAPED THIS FABULOUS ISLAND.

ABOUT 4,000 FEET ABOVE WHERE THE LAVAS MEET THE OCEAN AND ABOUT 15 MILES INLAND, I'M WALKING THROUGH A RAINFOREST AND THE RAINFALL IS BETWEEN 80 AND 120 INCHES.

THAT MAKES A DIFFERENT OF THE LITTLE POCKETS OF VEGETATION WE SAW BELOW COMPARED WITH THIS TROPICAL RAINFOREST.

WHEN LAVA FLOWS, IT KILLS EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH AND IT MAY BE YEARS BEFORE ANY PLANTS CAN GROW.

BUT WHEN THE LAVA BREAKS DOWN INTO SOIL, IT IS VERY RICH AND GIVEN ENOUGH RAINFALL IT WILL PRODUCE A LUSHNESS THAT CAN HARDLY BE MATCHED ANYWHERE ELSE.

THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII EMERGES FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR 22,000 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE.

THE LARGEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD AND THA LAVA IS NOT UNRELATED TO THE RICHNESS OF MARINE LIFE HERE.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IN THE TROPICS WITH THEIR WARM WATERS WE SHOULD HAVE SO MUCH FISH AND MAMMALIAN AND AQUATIC LIFE?

THE REASON IS THAT THIS, THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD, ABOUT 35,000 FEET TALL FROM ITS BASE IS A SOURCE OF A HUGE, COLD UPWELLING.

THE WATER RISES AND IT IS COLD AND THAT COLD WATER IS FULL OF OXYGEN.

THAT OXYGEN-RICH ENVIRONMENT GIVES RISE TO A VAST PROLIFERATION OF MARINE LIFE AND THAT BRINGS THE FISHES, THE MANTA RAYS AND ALL OF THE OTHER ASSOCIATED ORGANISMS HERE TO HAWAII AND GIVES THEM A PLACE TO LIVE.

MANTA RAYS FEED ON PLANKTON, TINY ORGANISMS THAT GROW IN OCEANS PARTICULARLY IN COLD WATER.

MANTA RAYS FEED BY OPENING THEIR HUGE MOUTHS AND FILTERING THE WATER AND CAPTURING THE PLANKTON AS IT MOVES THROUGH THEIR GILLS AND HENCE THEY MOVE LIKE ACROBATS THROUGH THE WATER EXPANDING AND CLOSING THEIR MOUTHS TO CAPTURE AS MANY OF THOSE TINY PLANKTON AS POSSIBLE.

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN SCUBA DIVING IS RIGHT HERE IN HAWAII.

ONCE YOU GET THE TANK ON, GET THE MOUTHPIECE IN AND LEARN HOW TO FELY ON BREATHING ON THAT TANK, YOU CAN SEE ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT YOU NEVER WOULD SEE IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT SEEMS TO BE UTTERLY HOSTILE TO HUMAN PRESENCE.

CORALS WHICH ARE REALLY TINY ANIMALS HAVE FOUND LAVA TO BE VERY MUCH TO THEIR LIKING.

WHERE THEY CAN ATTACH THEMSELVES TO THE LAVAS AND THE WATER IS COLD ENOUGH, THEY FIND THAT A PERFECT PLACE TO GROW BUT THEY GROW VERY, VERY SLOWLY.

AS THEY GROW BIGGER AND BIGGER, OTHER FISH FIND THEM A CONVENIENT PLACE TO FEED AND TO HIDE AND BIGGER FISH THEN COME IN LOOKING FOR THE FISH THAT ARE EATING THE CORAL OR EATING THE ALGAE THAT GROW ON THE CORAL OR EATING THE SMALLER FISH AND THE CHAIN OF PREDATION GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER AND LARGER AND LARGER AS OTHER FISH FIND THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO EAT TOO.

NATIVE HAWAIIANS APPRECIATE THE RICHNESS OF UNDERWATER LIFE AS WELL AS THE VOLCANOES.

THEY ATTRIBUTE BOTH TO PELÉ.

I THINK THIS ISLAND HAS THE BEST DIVING GROUNDS AND BEST SNORKELING GROUNDS BECAUSE OF THE NATURAL GEOTHERMAL EFFECTS THAT THIS ISLAND HAS PUT OUT.

THERE ARE SO MANY TURTLES ON THIS ISLAND.

IT'S A TURTLE SANCTUARY, HAWAII ISLAND COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE NEIGHBOR ISLANDS THAT DO NOT HAVE THAT.

ON THE BEACHES YOU WILL SEE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF TURTLES EVERYWHERE.

AND AS YOU GO DOWN MORE SOUTH TO KALIHIWAI BAY IT'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE THE UNDERWATER SCENERY THAT YOU WILL SEE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE WATER IS SO CLEAN.

BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SANDY BEACHES DOWN THERE THE WATER DOESN'T BECOME MURKY SO IT'S STILL VERY CLEAR AND CLEAN WATER BECAUSE IT JUST COMES CRASHING RIGHT AGAINST THE LAVA FLOORS.

AND SO VISIBILITY IS JUST FABULOUS AND AS YOU GO DOWN MORE SOUTH, BECAUSE OF THE GEOTHERMAL EFFECTS ON THE VOLCANO THE WATER IS ACTUALLY WARMER.

SO A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL TROPICAL FISHES PROPAGATE EVEN MORE THAN OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD AND THAT ALSO ATTRACTS A LOT OF SHARKS BECAUSE, SMALL KIND SHARKS NOT THE GREAT WHITES BECAUSE SHARKS DO LIKE WARMER WATERS.

SO IT'S REALLY COMPLETELY A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE UNDER THE WATER HERE SO THIS ISLAND IS VERY MAGICAL IN THE SENSE THAT IT HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER ABOVE GROUND AND BENEATH THE OCEAN.

LAVA HAS BEEN FLOWING OUT OF THE SIDES OF KILAUEA FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.

WITH ANY LUCK IT WILL CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS AND EACH YEAR MORE AND MORE NEW LAND WILL APPEAR ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII.

IT'S NOT JUST THE BIG ISLAND THAT IS GROWING.

A NEW VISITOR IS EMERGING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, LOIHI.

THE BEGINNING OF HAWAII IS TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW WHETHER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS ISLAND OR OAHU OR CLEAR UP TO KURE ATOLL, THE HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO, ALL THESE ISLANDS WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING LOIHI'S DOING RIGHT NOW.

CURRENTLY IT'S ABOUT 3,000 FEET BELOW SEA LEVEL AND IT'S A SEA MOUNT THAT'S ERUPTING RIGHT NOW, BUILDING ITSELF UP JUST LIKE ALL THESE VOLCANOES HAVE DONE TO FORM THESE ISLANDS.

GEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT IN THE NEXT 10,000 TO 100,000 LOIHI WILL RISE UP OUT OF THE OCEAN AND IT WILL EITHER ATTACH ONTO THE BIG ISLAND OR BE A WHOLE NEW ISLAND ALL TO ITSELF.

FUNNY ENOUGH, PEOPLE ARE ALREADY TRYING TO SELL REAL ESTATE TO THIS PLACE.

THE VOLCANOES ULTIMATELY PRODUCE ALL OF THE SURFACES ON EARTH AND IF YOU CAN SEE SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES ON AN ONGOING BASIS, YOU CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS PLANET IS LIKE.

SO WE'RE LUCKY THAT AT LEAST POLITICALLY HAWAII IS PART OF THE AMERICAS AND I'LL CERTAINLY ACCEPT IT ALTHOUGH IT LIES 3,000 MILES OUT IN THE PACIFIC.

FOR ME, IT'S A PART OF THE GOOD 'OLE UNITED STATES.

THE SECOND LARGEST ISLAND IN SOUTH AMERICA HAS ITS OWN CULTURE, FOOD AND HISTORY.

IT'S THE ISLAND OF CHILOE IN CHILE.

THE INHABITANTS CALL THEMSELVES CHILOTES.

THEY LIVES WITH ONE FOOT ON THE LAND AND ONE FOOT IN THE SEA.

JOIN US NEXT TIME IN THE AMERICAS WITH ME, DAVID YETMAN.

SOMETIMES IT TURNS OUT THAT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN SQUEEZED OUT OF A TOOTHPASTE... AH.

AND WITHIN ANOTHER 40 OR 50 YEARS WE'LL HAVE A LOW LYING FOREIGN... AH... THORN.

HUGE AMOUNTS OF STEAM AND SULFUR... OH, MY GOD...

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES.

FUNDING FOR IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN WAS PROVIDED BY AGNES HAURY.

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