Kilauea Volcano
By: Camryn King & Gabi Cantu
Kilauea Volcano Main Information
Country: United States
Town: Kilauea
State: Hawaii
Continent: North America
What plates are causing Kilauea Volcano to form?
Kilauea was not formed by any tectonic formation at a plate boundary. It’s formed by a geologic hot spot beneath the middle of the Pacific plate. This hot spot built the other islands in hawaii (the hawaiian chain) beginning with Kauai about 5 million years ago
What type of Plate Boundary is creating Kilauea volcano?
Describe what is happening to the plates to form the volcano.
What type of volcano is it?
Kilauea volcano is a shield volcano. A shield volcano is a broad, domed volcano with gently sloping sides, characteristic of the eruption of fluid, basaltic lava. Also, it’s the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii
Diagram of a Shield Volcano
Who lives near the volcano?
Nobody lives near the volcano. Lava flows are the volcano hazard most likely to seriously threaten people and property on the Island of Hawaii.
What type of eruption does it produce?
The eruption is a Basalt eruption. This eruption is a building eruption which builds up making it a stronger and more aggressive volcano.
What type of lava forms your volcano?
Kilauea is a basaltic shield volcano, erupting a type of basalt known as tholeiite.
What type of life is near the volcano?
Life living near a volcano is very difficult and dangerous. Volcanoes can cause lava flows, earthquakes, tsunamis, explosions, and volcanic smog. When the population grows more people and children are at risk.
What is it’s eruption history?
No one knows When Kilauea began to form but a lot of estimates are 300,000-600,000 years ago. The volcano has been active ever since, with no extended periods of quiescence known.
When did it last erupt?
Lava shot as high as 100 feet and low-level fountains created hot lava flows, more than 120 acres. Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has been in constant eruption since Jan. 3, 1983 and claimed over 181 houses.
What types of hazards are associated with the volcano?
Lava is one of the main hazards this is because it burns everything it contacts, and then smothers and covers it and then turns to solid stone.
Other Hazards!
1.) Earthquakes:
earthquakes are common around volcanoes, usually because of moving magma underground. The largest recorded earthquakes in the state of Hawai'i occur under the island of Hawai'i, which is where Kilauea is located.
2.) Toxic gasses: Volcanoes are known for producing many kinds of gasses, some of which are poisonous or potentially deadly (chlorine gas, carbon dioxide, sulfur compounds, etc)