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Kilauea is an active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of seven shield volcanos that together form the Island of Hawai‘i. In Hawaiian, the word kilauea means "spewing" or "much spreading", in reference to the mountain's frequent outpouring of lava. It is presently the most active volcano, and certainly the most visited active volcano, on the planet. Kilauea is just the most recent of a long series of volcanoes that created the Hawaiian Archipelago, as the Pacific Plate moved over a more or less fixed hotspot in the earth's mantle (see, however, Lo‘ihi).
1 Description
Kilauea's geographical location is 19.452 North, 155.292 West. It lies against the southeast flank of much larger Mauna Loa, whose massive size and elevation (to 13,677 feet or 4,169 m) is the result of three huge shield volcanoes -- extinct Ninole and Kulani are almost completely buried beneath the still active Mauna Loa. Kilauea rises only 4,091 feet (1,247 m) above sea level, and thus from the summit calderaThis article is about volcanic calderas. Caldera Systems is also the former name of SCO Group. See also US Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera. A caldera is a volcanic crater which usually has a flat surface at the bottom, formed by a volcano collapsing i appears as a broad shelf of uplands well beneath the long profile of occasionally
snow-capped Mauna Loa, 15 miles (24 km) distant.
First-time visitors to Kilauea, not familiar with how different the profile of a shield volcano can be compared with stratovolcanoMount Rainier, a stratovolcano. A stratovolcano (also composite cone or composite volcano is a tall, conical mountain ( volcano) composed of both hardened lava and volcanic ash. The shape of these volcanoes is characteristically steep in profile because les like Mt. FujiMount Fuji ( Fuji-san is the highest mountain on the island of Honshu and indeed in all of Japan. It straddles Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in central Japan just west of Tokyo, whence it can be seen on a clear day. It is surrounded by the five lakes, Mount HoodMount Hood is located about 100 km. east of Portland, Oregon. Its snow-covered peak rises on the border between Clackamas and Hood River counties in Oregon. It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth-highest in the Cascade Range. It can be seen e, and Mount St. HelensMount St. Helens is an active volcano in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located 96 miles south of Seattle and 53 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon. The mountain is part of the Cascade Range and w, are usually blissfully unaware they are approaching the summit of an active volcano as they make the drive up through the cloud forest on State Rte. 11 to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park from Hilo—or coming from Kailua-Kona via South Point across the Ka‘u Desert . From Hilo, the highway heads south to Kea‘au, then turns abruptly westward to begin the climb to the Kilauea caldera. For some 20 miles (32 km) the road runs relatively straight, making a 4,000 ft (1,200 m) ascent. However, most of this climb is actually on the heavily vegetated flank of Mauna Loa; the crossing onto lava flows issued from Kilauea is about 1 mile west of Glenwood , 18 miles (29 km) from Hilo. The Mauna Loa flows are several thousand years old; the lightly vegetated Kilauea flows are only 350 to 500 years old.
Glowing aa flow front advancing over pahoehoe on the coastal plain of Kilauea in Hawai'i.
Driving from the Kona Coast, the immense size of the Big Island becomes apparent: from Kailua-Kona it is 98 miles (158 km) on the Māmalahoa Highway (State Rte. 11) to Kilauea. After passing around the southern end of Mauna Loa, the highway turns northeastward towards Kilauea once past the town of N‘lehu. Yet, as from the Hilo side, the long climb from near sea level to the summit is all on the flank of Mauna Loa. Not until the Sulfur Bank scarp (the northwestern edge of Kilauea Caldera), near the intersection of Crater Rim Drive in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, does the road cross over onto Kilauea. However, the highway parallels the line of contact between the two volcanoes—always less than 1 mile to the southeast—from the vicinity of Punalu‘u at the coast to the caldera at the summit.
