Fissure that opened during the 2018 Kilauea eruption finally gets a name
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii Board on Geographic Names decided on an official title for Fissure 8 on Thursday.
The fissure will now go by Ahuailaau, which refers to the altar of the volcano deity Ailaau.
Fissure 8 was one of the many fissures that opened during the Kilauea eruption in 2018.
It was known to be the most active fissure in the Leilani Estates area, spewing an estimated 26,000 gallons of lava per second and creating fountains over 200 feet high.
The board decided on a name after reviewing dozens of community submitted proposals.
Big Island community members were consulted in order to pick an appropriate name that encompassed the traditional, cultural and family ties associated with the fissure.
The process to name the fissure started back in the summer of 2019.
Mayor Mitch Roth said, “We are excited to have a name that provides a sense of place, history, and cultural identity to the fissure that took with it so many memories. Ahuailaau is an embodiment of how Hawaiians have explained the natural phenomenon for generations, and it is integral to our understanding of this place.”
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