An’ei Lava Mounds 1777-78

As you walk along the summit promenade towards Mt. Mihara, you will see on your left many small hills formed by the great eruption of 1777-78 (An'ei era). This eruption started from the summit crater and spewed out a lot of lava fountains and scoria, forming the Central Cone "Mt. Mihara". Later, lava flows spread out from the north-western foot of the mountain, rather than from the summit, creating many small hills in the area.

These lava formations are puffy, rounded or wrinkled like a rope. This surface morphology is characteristic of less viscous lava and is known as pahoehoe lava ("Pahoehoe" is a local Hawaiian word meaning "smooth").

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