Dr Matt McConeghy Hawaii 2001

Hawaii

Volcano

Fiery Kupaianaha Pu'u O'o lava plunges into the sea near Kamakuna on the south coast of Hawaii Island

Hawaii is the newest and most isolated place on earth.

Hawai' i Island, the "Big Island" is still in the process of being formed, as these dramatic views illustrate. We watched it making itself at Kamokuna lava delta...

unstable new sand just meters from the mouth of the lava flow	walking across new formed land to view the lava flow

Halema'uma'u crater in the caldera of Kilauea volcano.

The last big explosive eruption here was in 1968. The biggest modern eruption was in 1924 when the crater explosion increased its size from 1700' diameter and 300' deep to 3000' diameter and 1300' feet deep. Since then it has reshaped itself repeatedly. It is currently about 300' deep.

broken lava slabs

sulfur deposits along the rim

sulfur vent

Lava 'trees' are the casts of trees surrounded and destroyed by the lava flow

opening in lava tree shows where the original tree was surrounded by lava

Steam rises in a field underlain by creeping flow of lava

the Southwest Rift Zone is a crack from near the summit of Kilauea miles out to sea. Ash from the 1790s is overlain by 1971 black lava.

at the Rift, pale ashes from the 1790 eruption are coverd by black lava from the 1971 eruption (Dr Chuck Blay)

offerings to Pele, Goddess of the Volcano. Several housing developments lie in the potential path of the lava flows.

"vesicles" holes formed by lava gases make some of the rocks very light

as lava flows the surface cools, forming a tube or tunnel for the flow beneath

later the lava tube may collapse

dark new lava trails flow over the ridge covering weathered older lava

smooth 'Pahoehoe' lava

Lava covered road

Dr Don Swanson of the Volcano Research Lab checks the seismograph recorder as Dr David Seidel of JPL/NASA and other scientists watch.

At the Volcano National Park scientists review the volcanic history of the islands

trace of earthquake in Peru

Mauna Kea

View from the summit

Even though Hawaii is near the Equator, Mauna Kea is so tall (13,796') that it had a glaciers during the last ice age. Probably the glacier lasted quite a long time -- 15,000 - 20,000 years -- and there were eruptions under the ice. The mountain shows the obvious signs of glacial history -- erosion, outwash rocks with classic glacial scarring, and a huge drainage gulch where the accumulated ice melted off about 10,000 - 15,000 years ago.

Moist air is drawn in from the ocean by the heating of the land, it rises over the mountain forming "orographic" clouds

one of about a dozen observatories at the summit

a typical cinder cone surrounding the vent of an old eruption

scars on this lava rock are the result of being dragged downhill by a glacier

Pohakuloa gulch was eroded by the drainage from the melting Makanaka glacier about 10,000 years ago

piles of glacial outwash moraine litter the slopes of Mauna Kea

Another famous Hawai'ian Volcano

Diamond Head above the beach at Waikiki is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. But it is just the profile of a volcanic crater. Here is another set of views...

Diamond Head from the air. Waikiki is to the right

Another view, enlarge the image to see Kapiolani Park

view of Waikiki from historic military outlook on Diamond Head -- enlarge the view to notice the remnant of camouflage that would have covered the outlook in wartime

Waikiki from Diamond Head

more beaches and people and ecology

credits (and thanks especially to Dr Chuck Blay of TEOK, Inc for his excellent guidance in learning this geology material)

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