HILO, Hawaii (AP) — The Hawaii Board of Geographic Names has begun taking recommendations to name the Big Island's new 60-foot (18-meter) lava cone.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports the state board is planning to take suggestions from the public and Hawaiian cultural practitioners to find a moniker for fissure 8, which formed during the Kilauea volcano eruption.

State Office of Planning Director Leo Asuncion says this is the first time the board has been tasked with naming a new landform.

Asuncion says the original purpose of the board was to clarify spellings on official documents.

The board is planning to host a meeting in Pahoa next year to collect the community's opinions on suggested names and take new recommendations.

Officials are hoping to have a name selected by the end of next summer.

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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/