Kīlauea ( in English, in
HawaiianThis article is a linguistic description of the phonological system of Hawaiian based on documented experiences of the people who developed the Hawaiian alphabet during the 1820s and scholarly research on the Hawaiian language conducted by lexicographers and linguists from 1949 to present.Hawaiian...
) is an active volcano in the
Hawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of 19 islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Excluding Midway, which is an unincorporated territory of the...
, one of five
shield volcanoA shield volcano is a large volcano with shallow-sloping sides. Shield volcanoes are formed from fluid lava that can travel long distances across slight inclines, resulting in their relatively flat, broad profile...
es that together form the
Island of HawaiiThe Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the U.S. State of Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean...
. In
HawaiianThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
, the word
kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading", in reference to the mountain's frequent outpouring of
lavaLava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during eruption. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C...
. Lava has been issuing continuously at Puu Ōō since January 1983. In 1998 Kīlauea was said to be the most active volcano on the Earth, an invaluable resource for volcanologists, and was said to be the planet's most visited active volcano. The volume of erupted material could pave a road across the world 3 times. Lava less than 1000 years old covers 90% of Kilauea.
Kīlauea is the most recent of a series of volcanoes that have created the Hawaiian
ArchipelagoAn archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago is directly derived from the Greek arkhon and pelagos...
, as the
Pacific PlateThe Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.The north-eastern side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge...
has moved and is moving over the
Hawaii hotspotThe Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, and is one of the best known and most studied hotspots on Earth...
(see
Lōihi SeamountLōihi Seamount is an active undersea volcano located around off the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii. It lies on the flank of Mauna Loa, the largest shield volcano on Earth. Lōihi Seamount is the newest volcano in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, a string of volcanoes that stretches...
). An eruption that started in 1983 is ongoing. These eruptions occur in the Puu Ōō vent. Thirty-three eruptions have taken place since 1952 not including the current episode.
In local belief the volcano is the home of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes,
PeleIn Hawaiian mythology, Pele is the goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes and violence. She has numerous siblings, including Kāne Milohai, Kamohoalii, Nāmaka and 13 sisters named Hiiaka, the most famous being Hiiakaikapoliopele . They are usually considered to be the offspring of Haumea...
. Legend says that eruptions take place whenever the goddess is angry. These concepts are included in tribal chants practiced by residents of the region.
Description
The Island of Hawaii is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. These are (from oldest to youngest):
- Kohala
Kohala is the oldest of five volcanoes that make up the island of Hawaii. It is believed to have breached sea level more than 500,000 years ago and to have last erupted 120,000 years ago...
(extinct)
- Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is an inactive volcano in the U.S. state of Hawaii, one of five volcanoes which together form the island of Hawaii...
(dormant)
- Hualālai
Hualālai is a dormant shield volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. Its peak is 8,271 ft above sea level. Hualālai is one of five volcanoes on Hawaii island and it lies roughly due west of the saddle between the much higher volcanoes Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa...
(dormant)
- Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth in terms of area covered and one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean...
(active, partly within Hawaii Volcanoes National ParkHawaii Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. It displays the results of hundreds of thousands of years of volcanism, migration, and evolution—processes that thrust a bare land from the sea...
)
- Kīlauea (very active; part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park)
Kīlauea is located on Hawaii Island, Hawaii, in the United States. It lies against the southeast flank of much larger
Mauna LoaMauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth in terms of area covered and one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean...
volcano. Mauna Loa's massive size and elevation (13,677 feet or 4,169 m) is a stark contrast to Kīlauea, which rises only 4,091 feet (1,247 m) above sea level, and thus from the summit caldera appears as a broad shelf of uplands well beneath the long profile of occasionally snow-capped Mauna Loa, distant.
Kīlauea is a very low, flat
shield volcanoA shield volcano is a large volcano with shallow-sloping sides. Shield volcanoes are formed from fluid lava that can travel long distances across slight inclines, resulting in their relatively flat, broad profile...
— vastly different in profile from the high, sharply sloping peaks of
stratovolcanoA stratovolcano, sometimes called a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano with many layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. Stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions. The lava that flows from stratovolcanoes tends to be viscous; it...
es like Mt. Fuji,
Mount HoodMount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...
, and
Mount St. HelensMount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a friend of...
.
Approach from Hilo
From Hilo, the Hawaii Belt Road, State Route 11, heads south to Keaau, then turns westward to begin the climb to the Kīlauea caldera. For some the road runs relatively straight, making a very gradual ascent. However, most of this climb is actually on the heavily vegetated,
cloud forestA cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which...
flank of Mauna Loa. The crossing onto lava flows issued from Kīlauea is not until about west of Glenwood, from Hilo. The verdant, forested Mauna Loa flows are several thousand years old, whereas the lightly vegetated Kīlauea flows are only 350 to 500 years old.
Approach from Kona via Kaū
Driving south from Kailua-Kona on the west coast of Hawaii, Kīlauea is distant along the Hawaii Belt Road, Route 11, which passes through Kaū, the southernmost district of the island. After passing around the southern end of Mauna Loa's lengthy lower flank, the highway then turns northeast towards Kīlauea. The route through Kaū is different from the verdant forests seen when coming from Hilo: The route from the south approaches Kīlauea through the Kaū Desert, on the volcano's leeward slope. Kīlauea's height of is sufficient to force most of the moisture out of the impinging northeasterly trade winds, leaving much of Kaū in the
rain shadowA rain shadow is an area of land that has suffered desertification from proximity to mountain ranges. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them.-Description:...
of the "low" mountain, creating a desert effect. The desert effect is also produced by the acid rain resulting from sulfur dioxide emitted by the volcano. This area is also the very active southwest
rift zoneA rift zone is a feature of some volcanoes, especially the shield volcanoes of Hawaii, in which a linear series of fissures in the volcanic edifice allows lava to be erupted from the volcano's flank instead of from its summit...
of Kīlauea, a prolific
ashVolcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
producer. Winds redistribute the ash, causing
dust stormA dust storm or sandstorm is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front blows loose sand and dust from a dry surface. Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, causing soil erosion from one place and deposition in another...
s and
duneIn physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by aeolian processes. Dunes are subject to different forms and sizes based on their interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dune are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune, and a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the...
s barren of most vegetation.
As from the Hilo side, the long gradual climb from near sea level to the summit is actually all on the flank of Mauna Loa. Not until the Sulfur Bank
scarpIn geomorphology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves a sharp, steep elevation differential, characterized by a cliff or steep slope. Usually escarpment is used interchangeably with scarp...
(the northwestern edge of Kīlauea Caldera), near the intersection of Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, does the road cross over onto Kīlauea. From near Punaluu at the coast to the caldera at the summit, the highway parallels the line of contact between the two volcanoes — always less than southeast of that line.
Kīlauea Caldera
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park encompasses a portion of Kīlauea, and the park visitor center is located near the margin of the
summit calderaA caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption such as the ones at Yellowstone National Park in the US and Glen Coe in Scotland. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters. The word comes from Portuguese caldeira, and this...
, overlooking a large
pit craterA pit crater is a depression formed by a sinking of the ground surface lying above a void or empty chamber, rather than by the eruption of a volcano or lava vent. It is often found in chains or troughs, which may merge into a linear alignment and usually lack an elevated rim...
called Halemaumau. The roughly circular caldera measures 3x5 km (or 6x6 km, including the outermost ring faults).
History
The volcano exhibits frequent eruptions, although written records stretch back only to 1820. In an earlier episode around 1790, a Kīlauea eruption killed a party of warriors and their families. These soldiers were part of the army controlled by
Keōua KuahuulaKeōua Kuahuula was an Alii during the time of the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii.His name means Keōua of the "red altar"....
, the last chief on the island to resist
Kamehameha IKamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
.
In 1825,
Admiral Lord ByronAdmiral George Anson Byron, 7th Baron Byron was the seventh Baron Byron and successor of the poet George Gordon Byron in that peerage. A career military officer and notable for being his predecessor's opposite in temperament and lifestyle...
, cousin of the famous poet, visited the volcano. His campsite, still known as "Byron's Ledge" is located at coordinates .
One of the most most spectacular episodes of Kilauea
lava fountainA lava fountain is a volcanic phenomenon in which lava is forcefully but non-explosively ejected from a crater, vent, or fissure. Lava fountains may reach heights of up to . They may occur as a series of short pulses, or a continuous jet of lava. They are commonly seen in Strombolian and...
ing occurred in 1959 during the
Kilauea IkiKīlauea Iki is a collapse crater which is next to the main summit caldera of Kīlauea.- Kilauea volcano eruption :In August 1959, a swarm of deep earthquakes was detected by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In October it was indicated by seismographs that the summit of Kīlauea was filling with new...
eruption. Lava sprayed nearly 580 meters (1900 feet) high.
Makeup
Eruptions at Kīlauea occur primarily either from the summit caldera or along either of the lengthy East and Southwest
rift zoneA rift zone is a feature of some volcanoes, especially the shield volcanoes of Hawaii, in which a linear series of fissures in the volcanic edifice allows lava to be erupted from the volcano's flank instead of from its summit...
s that extend from the caldera and run approximately parallel to the coastline. In recent decades, eruptions have been continuous, with many of the lava flows reaching to the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
shore. About 90% of the surface of Kīlauea is lava flows less than 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. There were 45 eruptions of Kīlauea in the 20th century.
Mauna Ulu Eruption, 1969 - 1974
The Mauna Ulu eruption of Kīlauea began on May 24, 1969 and ended on July 22, 1974. At the time, Mauna Ulu was the longest flank eruption of any Hawaiian
volcano3. Conduit
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14. Crater
15...
in recorded history. The eruption created a new vent, covered massive amounts of land with
lavaLava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during eruption. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C...
, and added new land to the island.
The Mauna Ulu eruption first started as a fissure between two
pit craterA pit crater is a depression formed by a sinking of the ground surface lying above a void or empty chamber, rather than by the eruption of a volcano or lava vent. It is often found in chains or troughs, which may merge into a linear alignment and usually lack an elevated rim...
s,
Āloi-External links:*...
and Alae, where the Mauna Ulu shield would eventually form. Both pāhoehoe and aā lava erupted from the volcano. Early on, fountains of lava burst out as much as 540 meters (1772 ft) high. In early 1973, an earthquake occurred that caused Kīlauea to stop erupting near the original Mauna Ulu site and instead erupt near the craters
PauahiPauahi Crater is a depression 2000 feet long and about 300 feet deep . Pauahi Crater is located approximately 3 miles along Chain of Craters Road, Big Island, Hawaii...
and Hiiaka. However, the eruption site soon returned to normal.
Current vent eruption and lava flows
The current Kīlauea eruption began on January 3, 1983, along the East rift zone from the
Puu ŌōPuu Ōō is a cinder/spatter cone in the eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea volcano of the Hawaiian Islands. Puu Ōō has been erupting continuously since January 3, 1983, making it the longest-lived rift-zone eruption of the last two centuries...
vent and also the Kūpaianahā vent, and continues to produce lava flows that travel 11 to 12 km from these vents through tube networks that discharge into the sea to two sites, Wahaula and Kamokuna. This eruption has covered over 117 km² of land on the southern flank of Kīlauea and has built out into the sea 2 km² (230 hectares) of new land. Since 1983 more than 2.7 km³ of lava has been erupted, making the 1983-to-present eruption the largest historically known for Kīlauea. 189 structures have been destroyed. In the early to middle 1980s Kīlauea was known as "The Drive-By Volcano" because anyone could ride by and see the lava fountains — some as much as in the air — from their car.
The 1990 lava flows were notable for their destruction; the towns of Kalapana and Kaimū were totally destroyed, as were Kaimū Bay, Kalapana Black Sand Beach, and a large section of State Rte. 130, which now abruptly dead-ends at the lava flow.
While Kīlauea is currently known for its largely non-explosive eruptions, it has a darker side to it: It has had large explosive eruptions in the past. The most recent of such explosive eruptions occurred in 1924, when magma interacted with groundwater as the long-standing
lava lakeLava lakes are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a vent, volcanic crater, or broad depression. Scientists use the term to describe both lava lakes that are molten and those that are partly or completely solidified...
in Halemaumau Crater drained. Even larger ones have occurred, including one in 1790, which killed at least several dozen people. Eruption columns are inferred to have gone at least as high as 9 km (5.6 miles) and even up to 15–20 km (9–12 miles) in altitude — much higher than the cruising altitude of airliners.
Eruptions from Kīlauea also are known for creating
vogVog is a form of air pollution that results when sulfur dioxide and other gases and particles emitted by an erupting volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The word is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic" and "smog"...
, or volcanic smog, which affects many areas of the
Hawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of 19 islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Excluding Midway, which is an unincorporated territory of the...
, including
OahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the State of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
and Honolulu whenever winds come out of the south or southeast.
Lava from Kīlauea destroyed three abandoned houses in the week of February 25, 2008 in a nearly deserted neighborhood. On the night of March 5, 2008, lava from the flows again reached the ocean off the
PunaPuna is one of the 9 districts on the Island of Hawaii . It is located on the windward side of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaū district in the west...
coast, creating a spectacular show of light and color. Hawaii County Civil Defense officials have set up a viewing center nearby for the public to observe the phenomenon. As of October 12, 2009, lava viewings continue at this site during the evening hours.
2008 summit crater explosion
In the early morning hours of March 19, 2008, Halemaumau experienced its first explosive event since 1924 and the first eruption in the Kīlauea caldera since September 1982. A steam vent that had recently opened near the overlook area exploded, generating a magnitude 3.7 earthquake, and scattering rocks over a 75 acre area. A small amount of ash was also reported at a nearby community. The explosion debris covered part of Crater Rim Drive and damaged Halemaumau overlook. The explosion did not release any lava, which suggests to scientists that it was driven by hydrothermal or gas sources.
This explosion event followed an increased sulfur dioxide gas levels from the Halemaumau crater. The dangerous increase of sulfur dioxide gas has prompted closures of Crater Rim Drive between Kīlauea Military Camp south/southeast to
Chain of Craters RoadChain of Craters Road is a 23 mile winding paved road through the East Rift and coastal area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii, in the state of Hawaii, United States. The original road, built in 1928, connected Crater Rim Drive to Makaopuhi Crater...
, Crater Rim Trail from Kīlauea Military Camp southsoutheast to Chain of Craters Road, and all trails leading to Halemaumau crater, including those from Byron Ledge, Iliahi (Sandalwood) Trail, and Kaū Desert Trail.
Early in the morning of March 24, 2008, the white gas ejection changed to brown-gray ash, and lava particles were thrown from the vent, forming Pele's Hair, Pele's Tears, and lava spatters around the vent. This is the first time fresh lava has been erupted in the crater since 1982.
Pele
Kīlauea is considered to be the present home of
PeleIn Hawaiian mythology, Pele is the goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes and violence. She has numerous siblings, including Kāne Milohai, Kamohoalii, Nāmaka and 13 sisters named Hiiaka, the most famous being Hiiakaikapoliopele . They are usually considered to be the offspring of Haumea...
, the volcano goddess of ancient Hawaiian legend. Several special lava formations are named after her, including Pele's Tears (small droplets of lava that cool in the air and retain their teardrop shapes) and Pele's Hair (thin, brittle strands of volcanic glass that often form during the explosions that accompany a lava flow as it enters the ocean).
In
Hawaiian mythologyHawaiian mythology refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the Hawaiian religion, the...
, Kīlauea is where most of the conflict between Pele and the rain god
KamapuaaIn Hawaiian mythology, Kamapuaa is a hog-man fertility demi-god associated with Lono, the god of agriculture. The son of Hina and Kahiki-ula, the chief of Kauai, Kamapua'a was particularly connected with the island of Maui....
took place. Halemaumau, "House of the amaumau fern", derives its name from the final struggle between the two gods: since it was the favorite residence of Pele, Kamapuaa, hard-pressed by Pele's ability to make lava spout from the ground at will, covered it with the fronds of the fern. Choking from the smoke which could not escape anymore, Pele emerged. Realizing that each could threaten the other with destruction, the gods had to call their fight a draw and divided the island between them: Kamapuaa got the windward northeastern side, and Pele got the drier Kona ("leeward") side. The rusty singed appearance of the young fronds of the amaumau was said to be a product of the legendary struggle.
Kīlauea Visitor Center
The Kīlauea Visitor Center is located just inside the park entrance, and features exhibits about volcano, the plants and animals in the park, and the island's cultural history. A 20 minute movie about the park is available, and visitors can obtain information about the park and sign up for ranger-led activities. The center also features a gift shop.
Sources
- Moore, R.B. and F.A. Trusdell. (2006). Geologic map of the middle east rift geothermal subzone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii [Geological Investigations Series I-2614]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Neal, C.A. and J.P. Lockwood. (2003). Geologic map of the summit region of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii [Geological Investigations Series I-2759]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Bryan, William Alanson (digitized in 2006). Natural history of Hawaii. University of Michigan: Hawaiian Gazette Company.
External links