Hawai brings to your mind beaches, sun, volcanoes, lava, tourism, travel and more. The highest mountain in Hawaii, Mauna Kea, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is a world away from the tropical paradise below. The summit, which can only be reached in a 4WD vehicle, is often very cold, with snow in the winter months. The Mauna Kea Observatory is an active research facility, which welcomes tourists during daylight hours. Only expert hikers should attempt a climb to the summit on the six-mile trail, which rises to an altitude of 13,800 feet from the Visitor Information Station. Evening stargazing programs, held at the visitor center, which sits at around 9,200 feet, are popular with tourists and locals alike.
Kilauea is sometimes called “the world’s only drive-in volcano.” This prolific volcano produces 250,000-650,000 cubic yards of lava per day-enough to resurface a 20-mile-long, two-lane road each day. As of January 1994, 875 acres of new land have been created on the island of Hawaii. Many locals say that Pele, the volcano goddess who lives here, is very unpredictable. The extraordinary natural diversity of the park was recognized in 1980 when it was named a World Biosphere Site by UNESCO and in 1987 when the park was honored as a World Heritage Site. Steam vents plume from this massive crater, known as the home of Pele, the volcano goddess. In 2008, this crater was filled with a lake of lava that disappeared earlier this year. Seismic activity caused by the crater walls falling into itself created a much larger crater. In May 2018, the Halema?uma?u’s volume was about 70-78 million cubic yards. It is now about 1.2 billion cubic yards. The crater floor has dropped more than 1,600 ft. Great respect should be paid at this sacred site. Also worth noting is that higher elevation near the crater means that temperatures can drop fairly quickly. If you’re coming from the beach in shorts and t-shirt, be sure to pack some warmer items like a light jacket while you’re here.
Kohala Volcano is the oldest of volcanoes that form the Big Island of Hawaii, having emerged from the sea more than 500,000 years ago. Over 200,000 years ago it is believed that an enormous landslide removed the volcano’s northeast flank forming the amazing sea cliffs that mark this part of the island. The height of the summit has reduced over time by over 1,000 meters (over 3,280 feet). Over the centuries, Kohala has continued to sink and lava flows from its two much larger neighbors, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa have buried the southern part of the volcano. Kohala is today considered to be an extinct volcano.
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Lo’ihi means “long one”, a reference to its elongate shape. For a 3-d image, check out the Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory (HUGO) home. Right now, the summit of Lo’ihi is about 970 meters below sea level. It is growing on the lower flanks of its two neighbors, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, with its base at a depth of about 4000 meters below sea level, so you can say that Lo’ihi itself is about 3000 m high. We don’t really know when it will reach the surface or even if it will. There is an underwater volcano off the NW coast of the big island of Hawai’i named Mahukona, and there is debate about whether it ever grew above sea level, or died out prior to doing so. The most often-heard time required for Lo’ihi to reach sea level is about 10,000 years, but that is really only a guess. It might be 30,000 years for all we know. It is far enough away from the coastline of Hawai’i that I imagine that at first it will be a separate island when it breaks the surface. As it grows (and especially if Kilauea and Mauna Loa are still erupting) it will soon be joined to the island.