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The Volcanoes of Hawai’i: a scientific and cultural marvelBold text

Volcanoes have long been appraised and are a large part of everyday life, culture, and scientific research for Hawaiians. A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust where magma ruptures from underneath the surface. The material collected after these ruptures create different and intriguing shapes like the ones that make up the island of Hawai’i. There are many of these volcanoes throughout the world, but the volcanoes that make up Hawai’i could be considered some of the most unique and universally recognized. The Five volcanoes make up Hawai’i and each have their own distinct traits as well as similarities. Hawai’i allowed for these volcanoes to form because the island itself was formed by a hot spot. A hot spot is molten magma emerging through the crustal plate of the Earth. The northwest moving Pacific Plate has moved across the hotspot of the Pacific for millions of years, naturally producing multiple volcanoes. [Victor 2000]

Loihi

Loihi Eruption ((geographersathawaii.blogspot (Nikita))Italic text

Located off the southeastern coast of the Big Island, the Loihi seamount is a volcano in Hawai’i. It is underwater whereas Mauna Loa and Hualalai are above the surface. It is known as the “baby” of the volcanoes at a fairly young age of around 80 million years old. Even as a relatively small volcano, it has a great impact on life around it. It creates a multitude of earthquakes through its underwater activity; the largest one had a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter Scale in 2001. It is developing into a larger volcano and will reach to be above the surface in less than 100,000 years. This oncoming phenomenon will possibly even create a new island. [Rubin 2014] Exploration and cultural reactions to Loihi There have been many explorations of Loihi dating back to the early 20th century. There is a great amount of scientific hype over this volcano since it is very active and developing. Scientific expeditions have already been planned for when it reaches the surface. Under the surface it is around 5,000m which leaves a lot of room for current exploration. [Kearns 2014] In addition to exploring this new area, many native Hawaiians hold their own beliefs about how this area came to be. Many Hawaiian natives believe the creation of Loihi to be the work of TuTu Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. According to these beliefs, Pele controls the activity of Lohi and is making this volcano become an island. They believe she is constantly making new creations and Loihi is one of them. [Phys.org 2014]

Kilauea

(USGS HVO) Four different shots of Kilauea erupting

Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It has been constantly erupting since 1983. In addition to erupting constantly, the eruptions themselves are dominantly effusive. F several years this volcano was not discovered and was believed to be merely a shadow of Mauna Loa. It was discovered that Kilauea does indeed have its own magma plumbing system and is its own volcano. This volcano is on the southeastern of the big island of Hawai’i and makes up 13.7% of the entire island. It is one of the most active largest craters in the world. [NPS 2017]

Etymology and Cultural Belief Kilauea is named after its behavior of constantly erupting. The word Kilauea means “constantly spreading” or “spewing”. (USGS 2009). This name is much suited for the way that lava is constantly coming out from this volcano in various forms of eruptions. This volcano is believed by native Hawaiians to be the home of the volcano goddess Pele, which would explain why it is so active; Pele is a powerful goddess. (USGS 2009)

Hualalai

(USGS 2001) Hualalai lava paved road

Hualalai is a volcano located on the westernmost portion of the Big Island of Hawai’i. It is approximately 2,523 meters above sea level. It is overall one of the most developed volcanoes of Hawai’I despite its poorly developed North rift zone. Many volcanoes have one main type of lava flow, but Hualalai has many. Hualalai is perhaps most commonly known for its abundant and xenoliths. Xenoliths are basically rocks trapped inside of rocks. They are a very unique sort of igneous rock that forms not from the magma itself but rather from the surrounding rock. [Encyclopedia] [NatGeo 2017]

Xenolith picture courtesy of :Woudloper

Effect on Human Population Although Hualalai is not known to erupt often, it still poses a threat because it is near such a heavily-populated area. An eruption in the semi-recent year of 1800 killed two people. A 1929 series of earthquakes showed that an eruption is due to happen within the next 100 years. It is now noted that it is important to be prepared for an eruption in Hualalai even if it is tomorrow or in 80 years. Hazard zones have been set up so that if an eruption is predicted, people know to evacuate the premises.

Haleakala

'' (Polynesian Adventure Tours) Haleakala’s craters '' Haleakala, also known as the East Maui Volcano, is a potentially hazardous volcano. It is predicted to erupt again even though its last eruption was around the 1700’s, otherwise known as being dormant. This volcano is very distinct because it contains a crater with multiple valleys within it. This crater was created by intense amounts of erosion which in turn created unique valley designs. This volcano is massive and covers a great percentage of the island of Maui, about 75%.(USGS) Haleakala is a shield volcano which means it is broad, domed, and has gently sloping sides. Haleakala and other shield volcanoes have eruptions of fluid, basaltic, lava. (encyclopedia)

 Haleakala National Park The volcano of Haleakala has become a popular tourist destination in the past years T the actual spot which people frequent is not the actual volcano nor is it the crater; it is a vast depression. This large depression was formed when erosion ate away a ridgeline and joined two valleys. Volcano or not, the Haleakala National Park is still greatly popular for its beautiful deep warm colors, and interesting curves. It is even thought to have inspired Mark Twain’s 1866’s visit’s thoughts when he stated “I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the shore.” (Twain, Nat Geo) Mauna Loa  Mauna Loa Eruption (amaze)

The large volcano of Hawai’i, Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa, also known as the “Long Mountain”, is an extremely long and wide active volcano located on the south-central part of the island of Hawai’i. It is also extremely high up as in relation to neighboring land. Mauna Loa is a 9,000 meters high from the sea floor up, making it the tallest mountain in the world. This large volcano has a huge impact on the climate of the island of Hawai’i. It’s eruptions cause a cooling effect when the gases cause sunlight to be reflected back into space. [USGS 2017]

Cultural Beliefs -The height of Mauna Loa is an important part of the culture of Hawaiian natives. Many Hawaiian natives believe that the mountain is so tall so that Pele’s sister’s waves would not be able to reach and drown her fires. [NPS 2017]

Works Cited

Camp, Victor. "How Volcanoes Work." How Volcanoes Work. SDSU, 2000. Web. 02 June 2017.

Rubin, Ken. "Loihi." Loihi. SOEST, 2014. Web. 2017.

Phys. "Rust Villages of the Deep: In Pele's Shadow, Iron Oxide, or Rust, Comes to Life."Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology. Phys.org, 2014. Web. 2017.

NPS. "What's Going On With the Volcano?" National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2017. Web. 2017.

Rubin. Hualalai. SOEST, 2004. Web. 02 June 2017.

Program, Volcano Hazards. "Mauna Loa." USGS: Volcano Hazards Program HVO Mauna Loa. USGS, 2017. Web. 2017.

NPS. "Hawaii Volcanoes National Park---Places Reflecting America's Diverse Cultures Explore Their Stories in the National Park System: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2017. Web. 2017.

Encyclopedia Britannica