Stripping of Keanakakoi tephra on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Field study of the Keanakakoi Formation, a basaltic tephra formed in 1790 by phreato-magmatic eruptions. Of the seven micro-terrain elements defined, bedrock, scabby upland surfaces, and lag gravels are the most distinctive and widely distributed. Five zones of progressive deterioration of the Keanakakoi tephra blanket southwestward from Kilauea caldera into the Kau Desert. Fluvial and eolian processes. Stripping of an entire mantle not possible; however, materials trapped within depressions form the only clearly discernible morphological expression of previously more extensive debris blankets.--Modified journal abstract.