In the central area of the Pacific Ocean lies the Hawaiian Islands spanning 2,400 kilometers long beginning at Kure Island, located in the northwest to big island of Hawaii (Edge of Fire). This island is 3,000 kilometers away from the nearest continent, which is North America. The creation of the islands today came from “Hotspots”, which are characterized as plumes of magma rising from the mantle of the Earth through the continental crust, creating huge shield volcanos which contribute to the land mass that subsequently gets created. With the help of divergent (creation) and convergent (destruction) zones, the Earth’s crust eventually moves the newly created landmass off the Hot Spot plume, effectively rendering the volcano extinct, and allowing for new land to be created over the still stationary (and active) plume in the mantle. The Hawaiian Islands are located on the Pacific plate. The Hawaiian volcanoes are known as intraplate volcanoes. Even though magma should not breach the oceanic crust in the middle of a plate, …show more content…
Hotspots specifically have the feature of creating paths for magma to find the surface in unusual places; they are for all intents and purposes, an anomaly. Before 1963 when Hotspots were hypothesized, it was unknown why these volcanic islands would appear more than 2000 miles away from the nearest tectonic boundary. A Canadian geophysicist by the name of J.
Tuzo Wilson hypothesized in 1963 that the production of the volcanic mounds of land were formed by Hotspots of magma that found its way through the oceanic crust. To account for the size and number of islands within the Hawaiian chain of islands (called the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamounts chain), it was believed that the Hotspot was stationary, while the Pacific plate moved at a rate of about 3 centimeters a year over it. When the hotspot produced magma, the plate (i.e. the crust) was simply in a new place, rendering one volcano extinct, and creating a new active one. The islands as they stand today are thought to have been made around 70 million years ago (USGS). What makes the islands of Hawaii so unique is their complete reliance on these magma filled Hotspots, making nearly the entire mountain range built entirely by volcanic activity; each island being the top of an enormous volcanic
mountain.
The west coast of the islands is on the edge of a continental shelf created by ancient volcanic movement (Broadhead 5) .This volcanic activity is due to plate tectonic movement which also created the numerous amounts of earthquakes on the island. Compared to the rest of British Columbia, Haida Gwaii has the most earthquake activity (Broadhead 5), the last of which being in a magnitude of 7.7 on t...
Mauna Loa is located on a hot spot in the Pacific Ocean. It is not near a plate boundary, in fact it is 3,200 km from the nearest plate boundary, and is situated in the middle of the Pacific tectonic plate. This is actually a rarity, as 90% of volcanoes are along a tectonic plate boundary. A hot spot occurs where long, stationary vertical pools of magma rise up and towards the plate. Movement of the tectonic plates above the hot spot created Mauna Loa, along with the other Hawaiian volcanoes. The older Hawaiian Islands were once above this stationary hot spot, but have been carried northwest by the slowly moving Pacific plate. As the plate moves, it carries the previously formed, older, volcanoes with it, creating a trail of younger, new volcanoes behind. The islands are lined up along the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamounts chain, which is 3,750 miles and includes Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Hawai’i, from north to south, respectively. There are around 80 volcanoes in this chain; most of them underwater, consequently the term seamount refer to submarine volcanoes. Three volcanoes of Hawai’i, Mauna Loa, Kilauea and Loihi seamount, are all currently sharing the Hawaiian hot spot. Although, recent evidence has shown that all three volcanoes use have separate plumbing systems to expel the lava from the pool of magma deep below them. It has also been suggested that Loihi is slowly moving Mauna Loa from the center of the island, thus shifting directly over the hot spot. The closer to the hot spot a volcano is, the more active it will be. The Hawaiian hot spot has laid down layers of lava, building up enormous islands from the ocean floor.
Basalt forms due to the partial melting of the layer of the mantle called the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is the plastic zone of the mantle beneath the rigid lithosphere. Mantle plumes coming from the mesosphere can cause the asthenosphere to melt with heat or even if pressure decreases, which is called decompression melting (Richard 2011). The magma that forms from this melting is mafic magma that solidifies once it reaches the earth’s surface and cools quickly. The above process mainly occurs mainly during intraplate igneous activity which is the main explanation for volcanic activity that occurs a long distance away from a plate boundary. If the tectonic plate above the mantle plume is moving it can create a string of volcanic activity such as in Hawaii. See Fig 2.
Hey we should go to Catalina Island I heard it is fantastic! Hey have you wonder what snorkling is like or kayaking well Catalina is the place to go. A little history about Catalina is major investors that have try to turn it into a hotel and resort paradise but it was turned down by Mr.wrigley. One place on the island I prefer to go to camp to is camp emerald bay you can do many things there. The Island is still a great place to go anywhere and is amazing and if you go to emerald bay go to avalon after the camp it is still great with many hotel for you to stay . Let me tell you about more things you can do in emerald bay.
While walking down the beach, the white, warm sand mushes between your toes. The sun’s radiant rays beam off your glowing skin. The sound of waves crashing blocks out the external world. There is no other place like the gorgeous tropical islands of Hawaii. The wide range of flowers, cuisine, and wildlife makes it one of the most diverse places on Earth; however, the unappealing aspects Hawaii makes it one of the most dangerous in the world.
Mauna Loa is the largest volcano in the world measuring 2,000 miles². Mauna Loa is 13,677 feet tall, 74 miles long, and 64 wide. On March 24, 1984, at 1:30 in the morning, Mauna Loa began to erupt. This eruption is known as a quiet eruption. The eruption does not cause the volcano to explode or make much of a loud noise. This is due to the basaltic lava and a low amount trapped gases. It just flows a low viscosity lava out of the volcano. When the eruption started, lava started pooling out of the top of Mauna Loa. Within 2-3 hours about 80% of the crater on top of the volcano was submerged in lava. Many worried that the lava would overflow and run to the Mauna Loa Observatory, but the eruption shifted to go northeast rift zone instead. This instead threatened the nearby city of Hilo, populating 40,000 people. The lava headed straight for the town. On the way, the lava reached a generator and left it destroyed. This took out the power for the observatory on the other side of the volcano. This lava that Mauna Loa erupted is a basaltic lava. Basaltic lava silica content is low and only contains 45-55% silica. This makes the magma more liquid and gives it the ability to move quickly. As the lava approaches the vulnerable city of Hilo, many of the people began evacuating. Luckily, the lava stopped at the outskirts of town, burying 16 miles of land owned by the state, never to be seen again. The
I chose to write my essay on these two cultures, because they are both native to their land, and they were both overthrown, for lack of a better word, from their homeland by more “Civilized” people. They were both thriving, self sufficient cultures that were living and progressing fine on their own. But others saw them as primitive and wanted to change them. This is what I think they have most in common.
Volcanism is a major part of the Galapagos and their formation. The island chain is positioned on the Nazca Plate, which is subducting beneath the South American Plate at a geologically rapid pace of 2.5 inches per year. In addition, this Nazca Plate is located directly on top of the Galapagos Hotspot. It is here that mantle plumes melt Earth’s crust, creating volcanoes as a product. The oldest island was first shaped by this ...
Aloha from the people of Hawaii and their culture! Have you ever wanted to visit Hawaii for fun activities, or to enjoy the amazing sights? Well, then Hawaii is a great travel destination! However, if you were to visit the islands, it would be great to learn a little about its people and culture! Luckily that’s exactly what we are going to talk about, so you can get to know the people of these magnificent islands a bit better. The culture of the native Hawaiian people is very colorful and unique because of its cuisine, hula dances, and religion.
The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is about 30 miles southwest of Hilo. It is on the big island of Hawaii. This park is the home of Kilauea Volcano. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on earth. The chance to see this creation and destruction makes this park one of the most visited National Parks in the United States.
Giving back to Hawaii I will give back to hawaii by taking care of are aina or land because this place has so much beauty. I would also do community service to make the island of hawaii more beautiful that everyone would see are island as the most beautiful islands of the world. Another way to help out the island of hawaii is doing community service or donating to hospitals, homeless shelters, and everything from the mountain to the ocean to clean up around the island of hawaii. I will help give back to hawaii by helping school students with education, books and better learning skills and make sure that they follow their dreams. Help the economy and help out with getting the homeless of the street and helping them get back up in life to get
Hawaii, infamous for its beautiful sights, warm water, and blue skies, is a popular state full of tourists from all over the world. While Hawaii may be one of the smallest states in the United States, it is full of memorable experiences and bountiful in adventures for all types. When you take your first step outside of the airport, you feel as if you are in a whole new world. Sunny skies, warm air, and lovely flowers trademark the beauty of Hawaii. 1.
“Hawaii’s Big Island” got that name to keep down confusion from the actual state name. The Big Island is bigger than all of the other Hawaiian islands put together. Hawaii’s Big Island is filled with Hawaiian temples from ancient days.