Volcanoes in Hawaii

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The Hawaiian Island chain is a group of islands formed by the constant eruption of a volcanic hotspot underneath the Earth’s tectonic plates. The slow movement of the Pacific plate carries the islands away from the volcano hotspot, so the volcanoes go dormant and eventually extinct. The tallest volcano and the largest volcano in the world are located in Hawaii. Even the most active volcano in the world can be found in Hawaii. If you want to see volcanoes, it’s the place to go.

Hawaii Volcanoes

• Mauna Loa – This active shield volcano is the second tallest volcano in the world, but it’s thbiggest volcano in the world. It has erupted within the last century.
• Hualalai – The third most active volcano in Hawaii.
• Kohala – the oldest of the 5 shield volcanoes that make up the Big Island of Hawaii.
• Kilauea – An active volcano on the eastern side of the Island of Hawaii. It’s in an almost constant state of eruption.
• Mauna Kea – The tallest volcano in the world, located on the Big Island of Hawaii.

We have written many article about volcanoes for Universe Today. Here’s some information about shield volcanoes, the kind found in Hawaii.

Want more resources on the Earth? Here’s a link to NASA’s Human Spaceflight page, and here’s NASA’s Visible Earth.

We have also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast about Earth, as part of our tour through the Solar System – Episode 51: Earth.