How many volcanoes are there on the Island of Hawaii?
Sue
Hi Sue,
There are 5 volcanoes that make up the Big Island. From NW to SE (and
from oldest to youngest) they are Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa,
and Kilauea. Off the SE coast of Kilauea is Loihi seamount, the youngest
Hawaiian volcano, but it is not yet part of the island since it still has
about 1000 meters to go before breaking sea level. Additionally, of the W
coast of Kohala is Mahukona seamount, which only a few years ago was
identified as another Hawaiian volcano. It is apparently long-dead and
there is some debate as to whether it ever did make it above sea level.
This clustering of volcanoes along the Hawaiian hotspot chain is
relatively common, for example there is a cluster of 6 that includes the 2
volcanoes that comprise Maui, the two that comprise Moloka'i, plus
one each for Lana'i, and Kaho'olawe. Thus even though the Pacific plate
is moving at a constant velocity (as far as we can tell), the production
of volcanoes by the Hawaiian hotspot comes in clumps. Perhaps the hotspot
is not constant, perhaps some parts of the Pacific plate are more
condusive to forming volcanoes?
I hope this helps you out.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii
For some pictures on Hawaiian volcanic activity, come to the Hawaiian Tour Guide in VolcanoWorld.
Other Categories
Other Questions
To VolcanoWorld