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| Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington |
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The Plus Side of Volcanoes
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Hawaii -- Aerial view of lava delta (center, left of volcanic fume) growing seaward at Kamoamoa on Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i. The new land is about 450 meters long and 180 meters wide (from sea to old shoreline). |
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Hawaiian Islands
Hawaii is the only state in the USA built entirely of volcanic materials. Each of its islands is made up on one or more massive shield volcanoes rising from the ocean floor or from the flanks of its neighbors. The Hawaiian Islands are the southernmost end of a largely submerged chain of similar shield volcanoes that extends 3,400 kilometers to the northwest and then, bending toward the north, another 2,300 kilometers as the Emperor Seamounts, reaching to Kamchatka. About 100 separate volcanoes make the Hawaiian-Emperor chain the most massive point-source volcanic outpouring on Earth. -- Excerpt from: Wood and Kienle, 1990, Volcanoes of North America Hawaii Today On January 3, 2003, Kilauea Volcano began its 21st year of nearly continuous eruption. Since the eruption began in 1983, lava flows have covered 111 square kilometers of the volcano, added nearly 220 hectares (540 acres) to the island, created local volcanic air pollution known as "vog," and drawn millions of people to experience and enjoy volcanic activity up close. This is the longest eruption on Kilauea's east rift zone in at least the past 600 years, and the volcano is not showing any sign that the eruption may end soon. -- Information courtesy Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory Website, 2003 Surtsey 1963-67 Surtsey, Iceland, is a 2.5 square kilometer volcanic island which lies approximately 40 kilometers off the coast of Iceland, and was constructed during the 1963-1967 time period by basaltic eruptions. Surtsey is a classic example of the growth of a new volcanic island. Episodic eruptions began on November 8, 1963 and ended on June 5, 1967. The volcano grew from the sea floor, at a depth of 130 meters, to sea level by November 15. During the first few days, eruptions were not explosive and probably consisted of gentle effusion of pillow lava. As the volcano grew towards sea level the water pressure decreased and activity became explosive. -- Information courtesy NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center Website, 2003, and Volcano World Website, 2003 |
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