or resemble an unearthly landscape. Volcanoes are very efficient land-making machines. They are responsible for creating the entire chain of Hawaiian Islands.
The oldest of the eight Hawaiian Islands are Kaua’i and Ni’ihau. Kaua’i’s volcano has been quiet for about a million years so lush growth has hidden any signs of lava on
Kaua’i.
The islands Kaho’olawe, Lana’i, Moloka’i, and O’ahu have also stopped growing.
So which Hawaii volcanoes are active?
Maui’s volcano, Haleakala, is currently considered dormant, which means there is a small possibility that Maui will grow a bit more. It last erupted in the late 1700’s.
Haleakala looks unearthly. It’s a great place to watch the sunrise or sunset. If you need an adrenalin rush—bike down from the top after sunrise!
The Big Island is less than a million years old. It is growing as you read this! All five of its volcanoes are still considered to be “alive”.
Mauna Loa and Kilauea are the two volcanoes working hard to make the Big Island even bigger. Mauna Loa (long mountain) contains 10,000 cubic miles of rock! It’s not surprising that Mauna Loa is considered to be Earth’s most massive mountain. It last erupted in 1984.
Kilauea is the most active volcano on Earth and not surprisingly attracts a ton of visitors each year. The most recent Kilauea eruption began in 1983 and shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Right now, Kilauea
is your best bet to see red.
Kilauea often spews lava into the sea. A red glow from molten lava is easily seen after dark. When the lava hits the sea a very large steam cloud is produced. The steam cloud is visible day or night.
Do you want a jaw-dropping volcano experience? Take a
helicopter ride
over the volcano.
Lo’ihi is a “new” volcano working hard to create an island of its own. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait about 100,000 years to see this new creation. Right now it is still about 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean about 20 miles southeast of the Big Island.