Volcanoes in Hawaii: Mauna Kea Volcano
Volcano Location : Big Island, Hawaii
- 19.82 N, 155.47 W,
- Volcano summit elevation 4206 meters
- Shield volcano
Mauna Kea Volcano is the second highest volcano in the Pacific. It is a dormant volcano with a small possibility of eruptions in the future. Eighty percent of people who summit Mauna Kea suffer from altitude illness, due to rapid ascent from sea level.
Eruptions at Mauna Kea Volcano
There have been no historical eruptions at Mauna Kea volcano. At least seven separate vents erupted between about 6,000 and 4,000 years ago on the mountain. The volcano in not yet extinct, and future eruptions will occur. The volcano is about one million years old. Radiocarbon dates obtained from algal sediments at the bottom of Lake Waiau, indicate the summit ice cap disappeared by about 10,000 years ago.
Mauna Kea Cinder Cones
More than 300 cinder cones are located on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea volcano reach concentrations of 8 per sq km. Height-width ratios and crater dimensions reflect the equilibrium angle of repose of constituent tephra. Most cones have westerly asymmetries which reflect trade wind direction. Cones at the summit define an ellipse approximately 2.1 X 2.8 km. These cones may lie along the margin of a buried caldera. Most cones at Mauna Kea Volcano are 200 to 600 m wide and 30 to 100 m high.
1973 Earthquakes
On 26th April 1973 a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred 15km north of Hilo, Hawaii, at a focal depth of 48km The location was beneath the east flank of Mauna Kea, a volcano dormant historically, but active within the last 4000 yr. Aftershocks were restricted to a depth of 55-35km. The earthquakes were not related to volcanic activity at Mauna Loa Volcano and Kilauea volcanoes, and may indicate a deep seated prelude to a resumption of activity at Mauna Kea.
