Hawaii
The Big Island
Hawaii's Volcanic History | Photos of the Big Island
The island of Hawaii is the youngest
of the Hawaiian islands. It is characterized by black sand beaches
(which for some reason I didn't take a picture of) Fern forests and very
rocky, barren mountain sides. The island was formed by five Volcanos
Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet is the worlds most massive volcano. Kilauea is said to be the worlds most active volcano.
hen I was there in 1993 it had been erupting for 7 straight years. (source:
Hawaii Volcanoes national park page) Hualalai
is historicaly the third most active. It last erupted in 1801 but it is considered active and may erupt with in 100 years. (By the way,
an airport and resorts are built on its flanks) Manua Kea and Kohala make out the other two volcanos.
(source: U.S.G.S Hawaii Observatory Web Page )
All of these volcanos originated from the
Hawaiian "Hot Spot" which, as we speak, is producing another island, Lo`ihi.
when European man first came to the island all
four volcanos, as well as Haleakala on Maui were active. Currently
the two Volcanos on the northern side of the island are inactive and the
third, located in Volcano's national park, is dormant, though it has not
erupted for around a hundred years. Kilauea is the only one of the
volcano's that is still active. In fact it erupted through the surface
when I was there. However, as the islands slowly move towards the
north-west (towards the Asiatic plate) Kilauea will begin to become dormant
and a new island will be formed, off to the south-east of the Big Island.
Succession has already started
on the island. The north and central parts of the island boasts
fern rain forests. However, the south eastern side is still rocky
and barren. That's because the lava flows still roll down that
side of the island. In fact, in some places you can see where a road
once stood, that got covered by a lava flow. It is a stark contrast
to the rest of the islands. After looking at these pictures you should
look at the ones from Maui, to get an idea of how much will change on this
island once the Volcanos stop erupting (Haleakala
last erupted in the 1790's.)
Each photo is a thumbnail. Click on the photo or select the title to
view in higher resolution
Thank you for viewing part I.
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All photos by John L. Polos
Copyright December 14, 1997
