preview

Kilauea Volcanoe Essay examples

Decent Essays

Kilauea Volcano

By: Jeremy Dodson

Located in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands are the cone-shaped tops of gigantic ocean volcanoes.

Located in the southeast region of the Island of Hawaii, Kilauea sits on the flank (or the side) of the active Mauna Loa volcano, and is one of five shield volcanoes that together form the Island of Hawaii.

Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, and it is the youngest. Kilauea stands just under 4,200 feet tall above sea level at its highest point.

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 …show more content…

This smog affects many areas of the Hawaiian Islands, including Oahu and Honolulu whenever winds come out of the south or southeast.

The estimated age of the earliest above ground (subaerial) eruptions of Kilauea is between 50,000-100,000 years.

The last eruption began on January 3, 1983 to the present. During this time, the lava flows have unfortunately caused destruction of nearly 200 houses, resurfaced over 13km of highway with lava, destroyed the National Park visitor center, and a 700 year-old Hawaiian Temple. It has also added new coastline to the island. There are no signs that the current eruption is slowing or will end anytime soon. Kilauea has little vegetation.

Kilauea has the volcano status of Historical. Kilauea has had 61 historical eruptions, not counting the continuous lava-lake activity in the crater. The oldest dated rocks from Kilauea are 23,000 years old.

The Island of Hawaii sits on (almost in the middle of) the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is a giant jigsaw piece of the Earth’s crust that is slowly moving in a northwesterly direction. It moves about four inches a year. There is a basically stationary hot spot deep within the Earth’s mantle. Heat from this hot spot makes molten lava and rock (magma) that rises through the Pacific Plate and erupts continuously on the ocean floor. After thousands of eruptions and over many many years, an island forms a rocky

Get Access