Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Summary

Of the volcanoes that are located in the United States there are two which are world renowned for their activity and their power to change the region surrounding them. The two volcanoes would be Mount Saint Helens and Mount Kilauea. In order to get a better understanding of these volcanoes we will be comparing and contrasting them as well as talking about how they were formed and when they last had an eruption.

Volcanoes can be found throughout the entire world and are formed when there is a rupture in the mantle of the Earth's crust. This effect allows the output of volcanic lava, ash, and various types of gases. These tectonic plate breaks are normal, the planet Earth is divided into 17 tectonic plates and consistently move against each other forming shifts from low to high intensity. It can cause displacement of earth or water.

Kilauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands it is one of the five shield volcanoes in the Hawaiian language Kilauea means spewing or spreading. Mt St. Helens is an active stratovolcano in Washington it is named after British diplomat lord st Helens.

There is an assortment of geologic activity at Yellowstone and Hawaii. At Yellowstone there are 1,000-3,000 earthquakes per year at Yellowstone. There are also over 10,000 thermal features found in Yellowstone (Volcano Questions & Answers). In Hawaii Mauna Loa and Kilauea are regarded as active volcanoes. Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984 and scientist predict this volcano will erupt again in the future. Kilauea is the world most active volcano and has been continuously erupting since 1983

The staff of the U.S. Geological Survey at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory currently lists Kilauea’s Volcano Alert Level as WATCH and its Aviation Color Code as ORANGE. Kilauea is studied and

This paper will provide information on the volcanoes of Hawaii, where it is known to be the home of one of the world’s largest volcanic islands, merely second to Iceland. It is not just the beautiful landscapes and wildlife that spark the interest to this particular area, but the uniqueness of the Hawaiian volcanoes and islands themselves are what make the area so significant. There will be information spanning from the history of the origin of the islands to how Hawaii must adjust to the volcanic hazards in order to keep the area livable. With these ideas in mind, I will first address background information on the area and set the scene as to what makes this area so special. Then I will transition to the history of how the

Volcanoes are one of the most destructive, yet, most beautiful things on Earth. They can make a famous city choke in its own ashes in one day, like Pompeii. Or they can turn a once damaging mountain into a graceful and peaceful home for new life, like Mount St. Helen’s. All volcanoes are unique, and no two are the same. Some erupt differently than others, some look different than others, and all are located in different spots all over the world. I learned this while completing the project and the five volcanoes I researched are examples of my discoveries. The five volcanoes I researched were Mount Hood, Mount Mageik, Long Island, Mount Muria, and Las Pilas.

Something beautiful can also be dangerous, as like the darkness can have phenomenal results. Volcanoes are one example of nature’s beauty, they can be fascinating, exciting, magnificent, but they can also be catastrophic. Their hazard eruptions put many lives at risk, destroying properties, places, and can disrupt air quality. The list of volcanoes is huge, there are three groups of them, dormant, extinct and active volcanoes. From the latter group there are about 500 in the entire world. Although both Mt. St Helens and Mt Pinatubo are two of the most significant volcanoes in the world, they have some characteristics that show their differences and similarities between both of them.

Today I arrived at Haleakala National Park to visit for two days. This island is located on the east side of Maui, Haleakala is 33,233 acres. Haleakala means, “House of the Sun” in Hawaiian. Every year Haleakala has over 1.4 million visitors. This year I am one of the lucky visitors to explore this National Park. Made up of a volcano, mountains and beaches this is going to be an adventure so I’m keeping a journal about my adventure at Haleakala National Park. The park is divided into two areas, the summit and coastal Kipahulu area. I will journal about the elevation of the summit and the coastal area Kipahulu.

To begin my search I went to my favorite search engine, Yahoo.com. I have always found that this engine is the easiest to use, and gives you the best information. At first, I researched all volcanoes, not just Mt. Rainier. There was so much information out there that I found it difficult to narrow it down to just 10 for my annotated bibliography. I was able to spend hours on the computer exploring the various sites and finding out new information. From most of the sites I went to I was able to link to other sites that had to do with the same subject. I found this to be very useful in doing my research. Not only did I find information about volcanoes and how they work, I found places where I could buy volcano merchandise, watch real time videos of eruptions, and look at volcano cams from around the world. I learned so much about all kinds of volcanoes from my research, but when it came down to answering the questions that I had asked, there were two web sites that I found were the most useful, The US Geological Societies Cascades Volcano Observatory, and Volcanoes Online. These two I found to be the most useful in my research.

Hawaii a huge tourist hotspot due to its lovable culture and beautiful landscape, is home to the volcano Hauna Loa, considered the largest volcano on the earth, located on the island of Hawaii which also holds four others is currently sleeping after its rude awakening roughly thirty years ago but it’s not certain when she might erupt again. Mauna Loa takes us more than half, due to technology that has been so fine-tuned that it could predict an eruption months before the actual event. There was a scare about ten years ago where scientist believed it could definitely erupt due to the amount of magma going into the magma chamber, but miraculously the magma camber was expanded and created more room for the magma to collect in. Another eruption

Hawaii experiences volcanic activity all the time from its hot spot volcanoes. Although it is part of the USA, it is still relatively poor but it benefits enormously from the volcano tourism it attracts to the islands. Thousands of people arrive every year to see the volcanic activity from a distance. Although there is still a hazardous risk from the volcano, the people benefit more from it than not.

Roughly seventy million years of volcanism, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, displays a fascinating world of biological diversity, rich, distinct Hawaiian culture, and past history. The park is located on the Island of Hawaii, 96 miles from Kailua-Kona and 30 miles from Hilo. It was established in August of 1916 as Hawaii National Park, and on 22 Sep 1961, it was renamed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The park encompasses 230,000 acres and ranges from sea level to the summit of Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet, the world’s largest volcano. It is also home to the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea, which offers scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and features dramatic volcanic landscapes. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was established

Construction of new homes near any active volcano is dangerous and is a major risk to those living there. The lava from the volcano can flow rapidly down the slope and destroy anything in its path; this includes any housing or buildings. With that said, $2.3 billion dollars since 1984 have been invested in building new homes on the slopes of Mauna Loa. There are about 75,000 people living near Mauna Loa, but the tourist industry has prompt the major investments in construction of housing and other tourist attractions. The major city of Hilo has been an example of the potential risk that living near a volcano can produce pose. During an eruption in 1984 lava flowed within 4 miles of the city. Precautions have been made to reduce these risks. Ultra sensitive strainmeters and seismometers have been placed in three sites on Mauna Loa. This helps geologists in detecting any volcanic activities early and help in predicting any future eruptions. This allows the people living near Mauna Loa to have warnings regarding any

An active volcano is a volcano that's erupting, supposed to erupt in the near future, and has had an eruption in the last 10,000 years.An active volcano can be erupting or dormant. Dormant volcanoes are active volcanoes that are supposed to awaken in the near future and become active. A extinct volcano is a volcano that is “dead” and unlikely to erupt again. The Katmai volcano is active-dormant. This is because it has erupted in the last 10,000 years and will most likely erupt again. The activity of the Katmai volcano has not changed over time. There has only been one eruption that has been officially recorded with evidence, which was the eruption of 1912.