The first place that came to my mind when I thought of a geology on Maui was the ʻĀhihi-Kīnaʻu Natural Area Reserve. Well, actually that is a lie, the first place that came to my mind was the top of Haleakalā but I did not plan on travelling all the way up there. However, as is most of the island, ʻĀhihi-Kīnaʻu is still closely related to the immense shield volcano Haleakalā. My visits to the reserve have been few in the past and they were usually prompted by distant family visits. Without the pressure of hosting relatives, I was awarded the chance to take in the site at my own pace. Upon my arrival I noticed a change in the size of lava rocks from the road to the ocean. The rocks reduced in size nearer to the coast until eventually they met the sand and water. The lava that covered most of the long stretch of land were sharp and rough to touch. Their texture proves that they were formed from ʻaʻa lava that flowed from Haleakalā. Since the original lava derived from a shield volcano which has a very …show more content…
There were even some keawe trees which I suppose proves that there is no escaping those thorns. Much of the reserve was formed by the last eruption of Haleakalā centuries ago, so the area is the youngest of the island and is still developing. This fact, along with the scattered vegetation I witnessed, leads me to believe that foliage will most likely continue to grow within the rocky region.
Further along trail led to rocks higher above the shoreline. It also led to one of the most interesting features of the reserve which captivated me for my entire visit. The rocks formed a bridge that covered a small cave that the ocean poured in and out of with each wave. The walls of the cave were smoother in comparison to most of the other rocks which makes me believe the water helped to weather away their rough
...e morphed it into the quartzite that is seen surrounding the butte (4). Rocks that undergo this process are called metamorphic rock, which is the same as the rock seen years ago by dinosaurs and other extinct creatures. The quartzite rocks were formerly seafloor sediment that was forced upwards, and then surrounded by lava basalt flows. Once erupted through fissures and floods through out most of the area, lava flow eventually created enough basalt to form a thickness of about 1.8 kilometers (1). All of this basalt flow eventually led to the covering of most mountains, leaving the buttes uncovered. The igneous lava flows and loess is reasons that the Palouse consists of such sprawling hills, and rich soil for farming (2). In result of the lava flows, the Precambrian rock Quartzite was formed. And lastly covered by the glacial loess, which were carried by the wind.
Barrier Beaches stretch along the entire east coast of the United States. The barrier beaches from Long Island to Maine are known as Glaciated Coasts because their formation was assisted by glaciers. Eighteen thousands years ago a glacier covered most of the eastern US. This glacier terminated at present day Long Island. About fifteen thousands years ago the glacier began to retreat. As it melted it left behind mounds of rubble, called moraines. This particular glacier left behind two moraines because its final recession was a two part process. These two moraines are the Ronkonkoma Moraine and the Harbor Hill Moraine. The Ronkonkoma Moraine is located in central Long Island and the Harbor Hill Moraine is located on the northern part of Long Island. Besides the two moraines the glaciers deposited great amounts of debris offshore. This debris supplies the sand needed to create and maintain a barrier beach system (Hoel 16-18).
Sonia P. Juvik, James O. Juvik. Atlas of Hawaii. 3rd Edition. Hilo: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998.
Jovik, Sonia P. and James O. Jovik. (1997). “History.” Atlas of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p.408.
Wells, Stephen G., Dohrenwend, John C., McFadden, Leslie D., Turrin, Brent D., and Mahrer, Kenneth D., 1985, Late Cenezoic evolution on Lava Flow surfaces of the Cima volcanic field, Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 96, p. 1518-1529.
Mount Mazama’s final eruption started as if it was just another normal one. The ash and lava started coming out of a single vent on the northeast side of the volcano. The lava went 30 miles into the air and was carried by winds covering a large area in ash and tephra. So much magma erupted causing the vent to widen and the eruption column collapsed. As the eruption continued, circular cracks opened around the peak.
With the lava flowing at a rate of 800 to 1,300 gallons per second from vents on the east side zone of Kilauea, more than 500 acres of new land have been added to the island since 1938. The eruption of Kilauea still continues to flow at two places in the park. The vent within Halema'uma'u Crater and the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent.
Miesse, Willian C. "Mount Shasta Geology and History." USGS: Volcano Hazards Program - Mount Shasta Geology and History. College of the Siskiyous Library, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
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.
Hawaii is home to Mauna Loa, Earth’s largest active volcano. Mauna Loa or “ Long Mountain” Covers almost half of Hawaii’s big islands. The Mountain is estimated to be about sixty miles long and thirty miles wide, it rises more than four kilometer above sea level and,
Stories about volcanoes are captivating. Myths come in different versions, but all of them are capable of capturing yours, and everybody’s imagination.
Kilauea is a shield volcano. In Hawaii it is the youngest and the most active volcano in Hawaii. It’s the most active volcano out of the five volcanoes put together in Hawaii. When Kilauea erupts, and when lava is everywhere it looks like a river of lava. Kilauea elevation is 4,019. Kilauea is located in the southern part of Hawaii. Kilauea is sitting on the southeast flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano. Kilauea is the home of Pele, the hawaiian volcano goddess. The hawaiian name Kilauea means “spewing” or “much spreading”. For many years, Kilauea was thought to be mere satellite of it’s giant neighborhood, not a separate volcano. However, researchers have researched that over the past view decades shows clearly that Kilauea has it’s
The earliest outcropping volcanic deposits date back to about 25,000 years ago. The lavas observed at a -1125 m bore-hole are about 0,3-0,5 million years old. It is known for the first eruption of which an eyewitness account is preserved, in 79 AD. Geologically, Vesuvio is unique for its unusual versatility. Its activity ranging from Hawaiian-style release of liquid lava, fountaining and lava lakes, over Strombolian and Vulcanian activity to violently explosive, plinian events that produce pyroclastic flows and surges.