How old is hawaii volcano

The oldest rocks above sea level are less than one million years old. The latter are two of the world's most active volcanoes. Currently, it is about 3, feet below sea level. The first discoverers of Hawai'i are believed to have come from the Marquesas Islands, at about A. A second migration, from Tahiti, began sometime between A. These invaders became the conquerors and rulers of Hawai'i and brought with them the political system of kapu, which is made up of a strict form of rules.

Evidence of early Hawaiian settlement is found throughout the islands. The ancient Hawaiians lived off the sea and lowland agricultural areas. For this reason, we find most of their ruins near shorelines. Villages, isolated house sites, agricultural mounds, petroglyph fields, refuge caves, heiau temples and many other signs of their early presence can be found on the island. In the park, the legacy of the ancient Hawaiians lives on in the petroglyph fields and caves, house sites and canoe landings.

Remember, it is unlawful to harm or disturb any archeological remains. All rock walls and platforms are unstable. Climbing on or removing rocks from these features will destroy them and is therefore prohibited. Preshield stage volcanism is the first stage of life for a Hawaiian volcano - infrequent, small-volume eruptions occur below sea level. The initial stage of volcano growth is the submarine preshield stage , characterized by infrequent, small-volume eruptions. Pillow lava constructs a steep-sided volcanic pile with a shallow summit caldera and two or three riftzones radiating from the summit.

Calderas continue to develop and fill repeatedly throughout the preshield and shield stage and go hand-in-hand with the high rate of magmatism that builds the Hawaiian Islands.

Rift zones are prominent features of Hawaiian volcanoes during all but the final eruptive stage. The preshield stage lasts for perhaps , years, yet produces only a small portion of the final volume of the volcano. As the volcano grows, the composition of the lava changes, and eruptions become more frequent and voluminous.

When the transition is complete, the volcano enters the shield-building stage. At all other Hawaiian volcanoes, preshield eruption products have been buried by products of later eruptive stages. Shield-building is second, most voluminous, stage of Hawaiian volcanism.

Eruptions grow volcano above sea level. As mass increases, the oceanic crust subsides under the weight of the additional mass. The shield-building stage is the second, and most voluminous, stage of Hawaiian volcanism. More than 95 percent of a Hawaiian volcano's volume is erupted during this stage, which may last up to 2 million years. Early shield-building eruptions are entirely underwater, but the rate of growth exceeds the rate of subsidence, and eventually the volcanoes emerge above sea level.

It is unknown exactly how long Mauna Loa has been producing shield-stage lavas, but the earliest preshield flows erupted onto the seafloor sometime between about 0. Postshield eruption are the fourth stage of a Hawaiian volcano's evolution.

Emergency Management. Survey Manual. Credit: Griggs, J. Public domain. The Hawaiian Islands are at the southeast end of a chain of volcanoes that began to form more than 70 million years ago. Experts carefully monitor Mauna Loa and consider it active. Not yet a Hawaiian island, Loihi is the only known active Hawaiian submarine volcano.

Located about 22 miles southeast of the Big Island, it is set to be the newest Hawaiian island — although it will be at least , years before the island reaches sea level. Haleakala is a dormant volcano that forms most of the island of Maui. It last erupted between and years ago.

Many visitors come to Haleakala to view its spectacular sunrises. Tour companies will bring you up before the sunrise. You can ride your bicycle down to take in all of the beauty. I think that knowing a bit of history about a place can make a difference when you come to visit.

If you are interested in viewing one or more of these volcanoes, talk to our travel agents. They can arrange tours that will enhance your knowledge of the volcanoes in Hawaii and give you the best views. Share this Post.