In the longest-running eruption
of its 200-year history, it burst
back into life in January 1983.
This fiery crown jewel of the
Volcanoes National Park on the
Big Island of Hawaii began spewing
between 390,400 and 790,000 cubic
yards of lava each day from a
fissure on its southeastern face
called Pu'u O'o. The lava flows
have buried more than 39 square
miles of Kilauea's southern flank
and added another square mile
of land to the island.[2]
Kilauea is an active
volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one
of five shield volcanoes that together
form the Island of Hawaii. In Hawaiian,
the word kilauea means "spewing"
or "much spreading", in
reference to the mountain's frequent
outpouring of lava. Issuing lava continuously
at Pu'u O'o since January 1983, Kilauea
is currently the most active volcano
on the Earth, an invaluable resource
for volcanologists, and also 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 yrs old covers 90% of Kilauea
Kilauea is the most
recent of a series of volcanoes that
have created the Hawaiian Archipelago,
as the Pacific Plate has moved and
is moving over the Hawaii hotspot
. An eruption that started in 1983
is ongoing. These eruptions occur
in the Pu'u O'o 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, Pele. Legend
says that eruptions take place whenever
the goddess is angry. These concepts
are included in tribal chants practiced
by residents of the region.
Kilauea is located on Hawaii Island,
Hawaii, in the United States. It lies
against the southeast flank of much
larger Mauna Loa volcano. Mauna Loa's
massive size and elevation (13,677
feet or 4,169 m) is a stark contrast
to Kilauea, 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, 15 miles (24 km) distant.
Kilauea is a very low, flat shield
volcano — vastly different in
profile from the high, sharply sloping
peaks of stratovolcanoes like Mt.
Fuji, Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens.
Kilauea
Caldera
Rainbow and volcanic ash with sulfur
dioxide emissions from Halema'uma'u
vent.Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
encompasses a portion of Kilauea,
and the park visitor center is located
near the margin of the summit caldera,
overlooking a large pit crater called
Halema'uma'u. The roughly circular
caldera measures 3x5 km (or 6x6 km,
including the outermost ring faults).[3]
You Tube Video
Kilauea is the youngest
and southeastern most volcano on the
Big Island of Hawaii. Topographically
Kilauea appears as only a bulge on
the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa,
and so for many years Kilauea was
thought to be a mere satellite of
its giant neighbor, not a separate
volcano. However, research over the
past few decades shows clearly that
Kilauea has its own magma-plumbing
system, extending to the surface from
more than 60 km deep in the earth.
