Kīlauea

I am a warm, gentle mountain on a sunny island. All around me is a big, blue ocean. Sometimes, I feel a happy rumble deep, deep inside me. It feels like a little tummy rumble when you are hungry for a snack. At night, I sometimes glow with a soft, orange light. I look like a friendly night-light for all the sleepy birds. The people who live here know me well. I am Kīlauea, a very special kind of mountain called a volcano. I love feeling the warm sun on my rocky shoulders and the gentle waves tickling my toes.

I have been here for a very, very long time. I was here before the first people sailed their boats to my island home. A special story says the goddess Pele, who is full of warmth and fire, lives inside me. She is my friend. Sometimes, I get so full of warm energy that I stretch and yawn. When I do, I send out slow, glowing rivers of lava. It looks like bright orange paint. This is not scary. It is how I help my island grow bigger and bigger. The lava cools down and makes new land for pretty flowers to grow and little animals to play. Just a few years ago, on May 3rd, 2018, I stretched and made the island a little bit bigger for everyone to enjoy.

Today, I am a happy home for many green plants and colorful birds. They love my warm soil. A very long time ago, on August 1st, 1916, people decided I was so special that they made me a park. It is called Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Now, families can come and visit me. They can see the steam from my warm breath puffing into the sky. From a safe, far-away spot, they can watch me glow at night. I am here to show everyone how our Earth is always changing and making beautiful new things. My gift is making the world new, one glowing rock at a time.