The trail appears to continue as a slightly crooked path worn into pahoehoe marked only by occasional bits of white coral. The curbed part of the trail is thought to have been completed in the 1830s but ends at the edge of the 1801 flow. We cannot now tell whether 1801 lava flowed over the curbed trail. Using flow features, we can sometimes guess about the environment into which a particular lava flowed. Tree molds and wood remnants in those molds can tell us what trees were growing there.
Beach rocks frozen into the surface of a lava flow can outline a former coastline.
We may only be scratching the surface of all the ways in which volcanological information can be used in other scientific studies. Rest assured that we will continue to seek them out. Eruption and Earthquake Update Kilauea's ongoing eruption paused briefly at the end of last week. The pause started early on the morning of July 17 and ended about 48 hours later on the 19th. During the pause, the lava tube leading from the vent to the ocean drained, and blockages developed as the unsupported roof and walls of the tube collapsed.