Āliamanu Crater, also known as Leilono Crater or North Crater, is a volcanic

tuff cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

in the

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

neighborhood of

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, Hawaii. It has an elevation of 760 feet, towering the nearby Āliapa‘akai and Makalapa craters.

History

The first geological description of Aliamanu was done by 19th century geologist

James Dwight Dana James Dwight Dana Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (February 12, 1813 – April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcano, volcanic activity, and the ...

. In the early 20th century, the

US military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

constructed a military base within the crater now known as the Aliamanu Military Reserve. The area was also used for underground ammunition storage.

Geology

Āliamanu was one of the many tuff craters formed during the Honolulu Volcanics, a series of eruptions in southeastern

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Legends

The Ancient hawaiians believed the upper rim of Aliamanu crater to be the location of Leilono, a site said to contain the entrance to the otherworld (Pō). Legends also record the Hawaiian goddesses Pele and

Hiʻiaka In Hawaiian religion, Hiʻiaka is a daughter of Haumea and Kāne. Hiʻiakaikapoliopele is the Hawaiian patron goddess of hula dancers, chant, sorcery, and medicine. Born in Tahiti and brought by her sister to Hawaii Pelehonuamea, Hi'iaka is al ...

using the crater as a habitat.

References

{{Reflist Volcanoes of Oahu Tuff cones Geography of Honolulu County, Hawaii