Kilauea Volcano

Kilauea Characteristics

• Volcano Type: Shield Volcano.
• Elevation: 4,091 feet.

Magma

• Basaltic Magma with relatively low viscosity.
• Lava flowing from the volcano is about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit,or 570 degrees on the cooler side.

Volcanic Structure

• Kilauea has 2 magma chambers that are 0.12 cubic miles total.
• Kilauea has had multiple volcanic vents but the currently active vent is located 15 miles from the summit and 6 miles above the coast.

Location

• Kilauea is located on the southern part of the island of Hawai'i also known as the big island.

History

• Kilauea is an active volcano that continuously gently erupts creating surface flows and tholeite rocks.

Human Impacts

• Roughly 2,800 people live near the volcano but currently no nearby communites have been effected by the volcano.
• But the volcano has caused major environmental issues with lava flowing into the ocean in Kamokuna.

Beliefs

• It is believed in Hawaii culture taking lava rocks from the volcano causes bad luck.

Predicting Eruptions

• Scientists are able to predict eruptions based upon volcanoes past eruptions and by monitoring data from the volcano.

Monitoring Kilauea

• Today scientists currently monitor kilauea by analyzing the amount of lava flowing into the ocean to see if it is increasing or decreasing.

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Hazards

• Kilauea curently has no hazards to the population living in Hawaii.
• But if the volcano increased to a level 4 nearby communitues of Hawaii would need to be evacuated.

Works Cited

• Program, Volcano Hazards. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_monitoring.html.
• PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vesuvius/predict.html.
• “Kīlauea Volcano Eruption Update.” Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i: ERUPTION UPDATE & CURRENT ACTIVITY, www.volcanodiscovery.com/hawaii/kilauea/current-activity.html.
• Bagley, Mary. “Kilauea Volcano: Facts About the 30-Year Eruption.” LiveScience, Purch, 16 Sept. 2014, www.livescience.com/27622-kilauea.html.