The Hawaiian islands are home to the world's most active volcanoes, including the earth's largest volcano. No wonder that native Hawaiians honor Pele, the goddess of fire, dwelling within the crater of one of these volcanoes. In fact, according to legend, Pele created the big island of Hawaii by spewing enough lava to create a landmass and fend off tidal waves.
Mauna Loa, which reaches 13,679 feet, covers half of the big island of Hawaii. Its name means "Long Mountain" in Hawaiian. Mauna Loa has erupted more than 30 times since 1832. Like the smaller but currently more active Kilauea, Mauna Loa is a shield rather than a strata volcano. Most people when they think of volcanoes picture cone-shaped strata volcanoes, such as Mount Hood outside of Portland, Oregon. Shield volcanoes have a longer, broader shape with gently sloping hills. Shield volcano eruptions are less dramatic and explosive, as their lava has a more fluid quality.
Kilauea, located on the Big Island, is currently the most active volcano in the world. Kilauea is the youngest of the volcanoes in Hawaii. It lies on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa and until recently was thought to be a satellite of the larger volcano. The name "Kilauea" means "spewing" or "much spreading" and in recent years Kilauea has lived up to that name, distributing lava flow as recently as April 2010. One of Hawaii's biggest tourist attractions, Volcanoes National Park draws more 9,000 visitors per year who hike past Kilauea's Halemaumau crater, which at times contains a lake of boiling lava. Pele is said to dwell within Kilauea. Tourists to the island are warned not to take home volcanic rocks as this will anger the goddess.
Like Mauna Loa and Kilauea, Hualalai is a shield volcano on the Big Island. Hualalai's last eruption was in 1801. Scientists expect it to erupt again within the next 100 years. Because of its proximity to populated areas, an eruption may be dangerous.
Loihi, often referred to as the youngest Hawaiian volcano, is not visible above sea level. Until the 1970s, scientists classified Loihi as one of Hawaii's old, extinct volcanoes. However, in recent years, earthquake swarms (intense seismic activity) around Loihi made volcanologists recategorize this volcano as active.
