Mauna Kea Hawaii - Global Volcanism Program

Mauna Kea
Hawaii
19.82°N, 155.47°W; summit elev. 4,205 m
All times are local (= UTC -10 hours)
In repose; first report disclosing background conditions and hazards
This is the first Bulletin report for Mauna Kea, the tallest volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi
(figures 1, 2, and 3). Although the most recent eruption occurred ~4,500 years ago, this volcano has the
potential to reawaken. This report presents early observations by Western explorers; discussions from
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists focusing on the potential for future eruptions; seismicity
during 2000-2013; and a recent report by HVO scientists highlighting drastic changes at an alpine lake,
Lake Waiau.
Figure 1. Mauna Kea is one of five volcanoes comprising the Island of Hawaiʻi, the others being Kohala,
Hualālai, Mauna Loa, and Kīlauea. The archipelago of Hawaiʻi includes the eight islands: Niʻihau,
Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, and Hawaiʻi (from W-to-E). Courtesy of Holt and
others (2006) and Google Earth.
Figure 2. This view of Mauna Kea is from the Keaukaha area, the S edge of Hilo Bay. Seasonal snowfall
covers the summit area which is also dotted with cinder cones. The highest point, indicated with the
arrow, is located at the highest point on the rim of the cinder cone Puʻu Wekiu. The small white points to
the right of the arrow are several of the astronomical telescopes belonging to the Mauna Kea
Observatories, part of the University of Hawaiʻi’s Institute for Astronomy. Photo by Valerie Veriato
Victorine; courtesy of Hawaii News Now.
Figure 3. An aerial view of Mauna Kea’s summit and S flank was acquired in 1995 from a NASA C-130
aircraft. The Mauna Kea Access Road reaches the summit after numerous switchbacks that cross through
fields of cinder cones (note the gray line above the propeller) on the S flank. This view is approximately
centered on the cinder cone Puʻu Kole, which is one of the features remaining from the Holocene
Laupahoehoe eruption. A forest reserve boundary encloses the upper flanks of Mauna Kea and appears in
this photo as a line that makes a sharp corner as it includes the lower edge of Puʻu Kole. Courtesy of Scott
Rowland (University of Hawaii at Manoa).
Eruptive style and activity status. Mauna Kea is presently considered a volcano exhibiting
quiescence that has, according to the known geologic record, an extensive history of lapsed activity.
Between 6,000 and 4,000 years ago, eruptions occurred at at least seven separate vents. The record
indicates that compared with Mauna Loa, which erupted every few years to few tens of years, and
Hualālai, which erupted every few hundred years, Mauna Kea has exhibited long breaks in activity
(USGS, 2002).
Based on the occurrence of 12 eruptions within a 10,000 year period, Mauna Kea’s recurrence
interval is ~ 1,000 years (Geohazards Consultants International, Inc., 2000). According to the Mauna Kea
Science Reserve Master Plan released by the Geohazards Consultants International, Inc. in March 2000:
“Mauna Kea's post-glacial eruptions have been episodic rather than periodic, however, with a particular
concentration of eruptive activity between 4,400-5,600 years ago. The 1,000 year recurrence interval of
the past 10,000 years does not thus indicate that an eruption is ‘overdue’, but does reinforce the likelihood
that eruptions will occur sporadically in the future.”
This pattern of activity might also imply that the next eruption of Mauna Kea could be followed
by others at much shorter intervals, representing a potential clustering of events in the given time interval
(Jim Kauahikaua, personal communication, 30 May 2014).
Mauna Kea’s most recent eruption occurred ~4,500 years ago, generating both lava flows and
cinder cones. This activity is considered characteristic of a volcanic system that had evolved past the
shield-building stage to the post-shield stage (Hoover and Fodor, 1997). The above-stated age
determinations were made based on radiocarbon dating of charcoal collected within the Humuʻula soil
(Porter, 1971; Wolfe and others, 1997); this soil lies directly beneath the S flank lava flows of Puʻukole
and Puʻu Loa Loa (figure 4).
Figure 4. (Index map) The Island of Hawaiʻi encompasses five volcanic centers. Note Hilo Bay (HB), the
location where the photo in figure 2 was taken. The shaded box shows the area of the main map. (Main
Map) Holocene cinder cones and lava flows are located on Mauna Kea’s lower S flank, the lower extent
of which have been covered by Mauna Loa lava flows. The two sets of isopachs indicate tephra units
vented from the cinder cones Puʻukole and Puʻu Loa Loa. State Highway 200 (the Saddle Road) is
indicated in red, located at the lower margin. The point marked as Hale Pōhaku is the location of the
Visitor Information Station and the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. Map modified from
Porter (1971).
The designations of shield-building and post-shield stages come from a system of structural
development that represents the current understanding of Hawaiian volcanism. Significant cinder cone
eruptions are a hallmark of the post-shield stage as well as: “(1) the absence of a summit caldera and
elongated fissure vents that radiate across its summit; (2) steeper and more irregular topography (for
example, the upper flanks of Mauna Kea are twice as steep as those of Mauna Loa; [figure 5]); and (3)
different chemical compositions of the lava” (Clague and Dalrymple, 1987; USGS, 2002).
Figure 5. Two profile photos of Mauna Kea (top) and Mauna Loa (bottom). Mauna Kea (top) displays an
irregular profile due to the abundance of steep-sided cinder cones formed by hawaiite, a less fluid and
more explosive lava composition compared with the tholeiitic basalt that characterizes shield-stage
volcanism. Mauna Loa (bottom) exhibits the classic, shield-stage morphology that results due to
numerous tholeiitic basalt eruptions (and known to be particularly voluminous). This morphology is
relatively smooth and shallow compared with Mauna Kea. USGS photos taken by Taeko Jane Takahashi
in 1991 with caption details from Wright and others (1992b).
Gravity model. Investigations by Kauahikaua and others (2000) determined a three-dimensional
gravity model for the Island of Hawaiʻi distinguished the five volcanic centers comprising the island:
Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualālai, Mauna Loa, and Kīlauea (figure 6). The base data for that map came from
more than 3,300 gravity measurements made above sea level. Positive gravity anomalies define
gravitationally dense zones caused by intrusions and cumulates beneath the summit and known rift zones
of each of the five volcanoes composing the island. Figure 6 maps the 3-dimensional structure as modeled
from the gravity data and expresses the gravity anomalies in terms of elevation from the overlying ground
surface.
Figure 6. The Island of Hawaiʻi, including Mauna Kea, in a map showing the distance from the ground
surface to the modeled upper surface of dense volcanic cores. Near the center of the island, the edifice of
Mauna Kea appears covered with alkali basalt vents (gray diamonds). The contour interval represents 1
km. The authors plot known vents and other features such as slumps in order to compare them to the
model. The subaerial features were taken from Wolfe and Morris (1996) and the submarine geologic
features, from Holcomb (1996). Rift zones are marked by linear distributions of vents; alternative
locations for the summit of Mahukona volcano are shown by “a” and “b.” Modified from Kauahikaua and
others, 2000.
“Mauna Kea has an elliptical-shaped core, slightly elongated east-west, with a broad, linear feature
trending southeast. This linear feature may be a buried rift zone of Mauna Kea, although no surface
expressions of those rift zones have been mapped (Kauahikaua and others, 2000).”
The submarine feature known as the Hilo Ridge was also included in the density study with data
contributed by GLORIA (a side-scan sonar) as well as satellites ERS-1, Geosat, and Seasat. Prior to this
investigation, the Hilo Ridge had been attributed to Mauna Kea as its possible rift zone; however, the
authors determined a stronger connection with Kohala due to multiple factors including the strongly NWtrending linear zone that extends ~80 km from the modelled core of Kohala.
Early European observations. An early survey of Hawaiʻi was conducted by Archibald Menzies,
a botanist who accompanied Captain George Vancouver during the cruises of 1792-1794. Menzies
successfully ascended Mauna Loa in February 1794 (a team from Captain Cook’s crew had
unsuccessfully attempted the summit in 1779; see figure 7). Menzies estimated the heights of Mauna Loa
and Mauna Kea to within 31 m of the currently accepted value, “a remarkable surveying feat for that
time” (Wright and others, 1992b).
Figure 7. This map of the Hawaiian Islands has been cropped and centered on the area of the Big Island.
Mauna Kea and other major landmarks were annotated with the early spelling conventions. According to
Wright and others, 1992b, “This was the first map of the island of Hawaiʻi, made in 1779 by Henry
Roberts, a member of Captain Cook’s crew. Four volcanoes are shown, and only the two largest ones are
named. Kilauea is conspicuously absent from this map and from a similar one made following
Vancouver’s voyages of 1792-1794. Neither Cook nor Vancouver visited the eastern side of Hawaiʻi or
saw any volcanic activity.” Modified from Wright and others (1992b) and Fitzpatrick (1986).
The first petrologist to study Mauna Kea, R.A. Daly, determined not only that Mauna Kea’s
upper flanks were dominated by lava flows more rich in silica (he called them “andesite” although current
classifications label them “hawaiite”), but also that the edifice had been modified by glaciers (Wolfe and
others, 1997; Daly, 1911). Stearns and Macdonald (1946) and Washington (1923) expanded the
knowledge base of Mauna Kea’s geochemistry, and Gregory and Wentworth (1937) established that the
glacial features from the most recent glacial episode (40,000 to 13,000 years ago) were interspersed with
primary volcanic material. Wolfe and others (1997) determined that “eruptive activity of Mauna Kea was
partly contemporaneous with that at Kohala, Hualālai, and Mauna Loa, and the volcano boundaries are
undoubtedly complex.”
HVO Volcano Watch article highlights a Mauna Kea forecast. The potential for a future
eruption from Mauna Kea was addressed in a Volcano Watch article posted in June 2000 by then
Scientist-in-Charge, Don Swanson, from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) (Swanson, 2000ab).
The article addresses not only eruption frequency but also trends in eruption style, the potential response
of the telescope installation at Mauna Kea’s summit, and a general forecast for a likely scenario in the
future.
“The next eruption of Mauna Kea.”
“Mauna Kea’s peaceful appearance is misleading. The volcano is not dead. It erupted many times
between 60,000 and 4,000 years ago, and some periods of quiet during that time apparently lasted longer
than 4,000 years. Given that record, future eruptions seem almost certain.
“Before the next one, we should have ample warning provided by our current seismic and geodetic
monitoring systems. A number of earthquakes occur beneath Mauna Kea each year, and you can bet that
we pay close attention to them. However, they all appear to be associated with tectonic faulting rather
than movement of magma.
“The telescopes on top of the volcano may be the first to indicate that something is amiss. The
coordinates used for tracking their observations will begin to drift unexpectedly as the volcano is
swelling. In a sense, the telescopes will serve as very expensive tiltmeters.
“We cannot now say when the next eruption will take place, except that it is unlikely to be in the
next several months, given the current lack of any precursory signs. Whether the timing is years,
centuries, or millennia is entirely unclear.
“But we can say something about the probable nature of the next eruption, because we know what
the most recent ones were like, thanks to recently published research by Ed Wolfe [see Wolfe and others,
1997], former staff member of HVO, and colleagues.
“The next eruption could take place anywhere on the upper flanks of the volcano. As Mauna Kea
evolved from its early shield stage (equivalent to Kilauea and Mauna Loa today) to its present postshield
stage, the volcano lost its rift zones. Consequently, the postshield eruptions are not concentrated along
narrow zones but instead are scattered across the mountain. [See figure 6.]
“For example, the most recent eruptive period, 6,000-4,000 years ago, involved eight vents on the
south flank of the volcano between Kalaʻiʻeha cone (near Humuʻula) and Puʻukole (east of Hale Pōhaku).
During this same period, eruptions took place on the northeast flank at Puʻu Lehu and Puʻu Kanakaleonui.
Lava from Puʻu Kanakaleonui flowed more than 20 km (12 miles) northeastward, entering the sea to form
Laupahoehoe Point.
“The next eruption will likely produce a lava flow, because each eruption in the past 60,000 years
has done so. The longest flows will reach 15-25 km (9-15 miles) downslope. Most of each flow will be
ʻaʻa, but pahoehoe may form near vents.
“A prominent cinder cone will probably be constructed at each vent. The cinder cones responsible
for the “bumpy” appearance of Mauna Kea’s surface formed during the 60,000-4,000-year interval. The
cones mentioned by name above, and several others, were built during the latest eruptive period 6,0004,000 years ago. The next eruption will likely produce a similar cone.
“Cinder cones form at vents that are point sources, not elongate fissures. All activity is concentrated
at one place, so that fountaining and spattering build a high cone rather than a long rampart. Past
eruptions—and hence future ones--probably lasted months to several years, providing enough time to
construct a substantial cone. Those eruptions spread voluminous ash deposits far beyond the cinder cones
themselves, and the next eruption will probably do so, too.
“Possibly, however, there will not be enough spattering to build a lasting cone. Such an eruption
happened about 1 km (0.6 miles) southeast of Hale Pōhaku, when a vent put out a moderate volume of
lava without building a spatter or cinder cone.
“The next eruption of Mauna Kea is unlikely to occur in our lifetimes, but it could. There is no
reason to fear such an eruption. It would not threaten human life, provided due care were taken, though it
could prove devastating to property and infrastructure, particularly if a lava flow traveled to the Hamakua
coast or the Waimea area.”
Mauna Kea’s seismicity. HVO has monitored and maintained the record of seismicity for the
entire region of Hawaiʻi. The seismicity detected beneath Mauna Kea has been characterized as
“infrequent and sparse.” Notable seismicity occurred in 1994, 2001, and 2011, when earthquakes were
large enough to be felt by the general public. Island-wide instrumentation allowed excellent location data
for the local seismicity (figure 8).
Figure 8. The seismic network that monitors Mauna Kea and the other volcanoes of Hawaiʻi spans six
islands. This map appeared in the USGS Fact Sheet released in 2011.
HVO reported that, several times each year, earthquakes from Mauna Kea cause shaking that is
noted by local populations – especially the operators of the Mauna Kea astronomical observatory, who
rely on stable instrumentation in order to make precise observations. Reports of felt earthquakes from
Mauna Kea correlated with magnitude 2.1-4.9 earthquakes during 1973-2012.
Elevated seismicity during October-December 2011 resulted in 30 felt earthquakes.
Approximately 570 people reported the M 4.5 earthquake that occurred on 20 October 2011 and also 10
of the aftershocks that followed (figure 9). HVO reported that, like many of Mauna Kea’s earthquakes,
these earthquakes were “most likely caused by structural adjustments within the Earth’s crust due to the
heavy load of Mauna Kea.” With an estimated volume of >30,000 km3, Mauna Kea rises ~10,000 m
above the seafloor, causing stress to accumulate from the mass of the volcano (Lockwood and Hazlett,
2010).
Figure 9. This map includes the located seismicity from Mauna Kea’s seismic sequence between 19
October and 31 December 2011. Within 10 km of the summit, an M 4.5 earthquake (20 October 2011)
and aftershocks occurred. Courtesy of HVO.
Earthquake swarms at Mauna Kea. HVO reported that earthquake swarms occasionally occur at
Mauna Kea. On 23 February 2001, a swarm of ~15 events was detected within a 21-hour period. These
earthquakes were mainly located ~15 km S of Paʻauilo (~3 km NW of Kūkaʻiau, figure 10), at a depth of
8-11 km.
Figure 10. Geographic features of Mauna Kea included in this map are discussed in this text.
Topographic contours are from U.S. Geological Survey, Hawaii County, Sheets 1 and 2, 1980; 4,000-m
contour omitted. The following abbreviations are included: ag, the aqueduct gulch; HS, Hopukani
Springs; HSS, Humuʻula Sheep Station; LS, Liloe Spring; WS, Waihū Spring. Map modified from Wolfe
and others (1997).
Lake Waiau recedes. The cinder cone Puʻuwaiau, located within 2 km of the summit, has
contained a freshwater lake that was considered permanent by Wolfe and others (1997) (figures 11 and
12). Lake Waiau has likely persisted due to the once-glassy cinders and bombs that have weathered to
smectite with zeolites within the void spaces. These alteration products may serve as a weak cement
between the pyroclasts and reduce the permeability of the cinder cone’s base. Sporadic winter storms
have provided most, if not all, of the water captured in this considerably arid region (Patrick and Delparte,
2014). Contributions from permafrost were also proposed by Woodcock (1980), but the presence of
permafrost has not been confirmed near Lake Waiau.
Figure 11. An aerial view of Mauna Kea’s summit was acquired in 1995 from a NASA C-130 aircraft.
The highest cinder cone, Puʻu Wekiu, is centered in this view with several astronomical telescopes in
view on the left-hand side. The small oval Lake Waiau is on upper the right-hand side of this photo.
Courtesy of Scott Rowland (School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at
Manoa).
Figure 12. This aerial photo includes Mauna Kea’s Puʻuwaiau where Lake Waiau is indicated with the
yellow arrow. The view is approximately SW. A large cinder cone, Puʻuhaukea, is in the foreground. A
dark lava flow from Mauna Loa is in the far distance. Courtesy of Richard Wainscoat (Institute for
Astronomy, University of Hawaiʻi).
Patrick and Delparte (2014) reported that the lake size before 2010 was 5,000-7,000 m2 with a
depth of ~3 m, but recently, the size has been decreasing rapidly. In the recent past, the lake was known to
overflow through the Pōhakuloa Gulch when water levels exceeded the rim (as recently as February
2002) (Ehlmann and others, 2005).
Researchers have determined that Lake Waiau is sensitive to precipitation levels (Woodcock,
1980) and that ongoing drought conditions could be driving the lake’s change (Patrick and Delparte,
2014). Based on the National Drought Mitigation Center’s data, since 2008, and notably in March 2010,
precipitation has been sparse at the summit of Mauna Kea.
In December 2013, scientists visited the lake and observed an unprecedented sight (figure 13).
Lake Waiau measured a mere 115 m2 and was roughly 10-20 cm deep (Patrick and Delparte, 2014).
While the lake size was known to fluctuate over time, this dramatic reduction has caused concern, given
the possibility of losing a specialized ecosystem as well as a prominent feature of Hawaiian
ethnogeography. Mauna Kea’s summit is considered “one of the most sacred spots in the Hawaiian
Islands. Archaeological sites near the summit attest to its prolonged spiritual importance… (Patrick and
Delparte, 2014).”
Figure 13. The rapid drop in Mauna Kea’s Lake Waiau water level began in 2010. Prior to 2010, the lake
area was typically 5,000-7,000 m2, with the maximum size outlined in yellow in the top left image (depth
was ~3 m). By late 2013, the lake was just 100-200 m2 in area. Photographs courtesy of Office of Mauna
Kea Management and modified from Patrick and Delparte (2014).
USGS scientists at HVO as well as collaborators, including Idaho State University, continued to
study the conditions at Lake Waiau after the significant survey was conducted in December 2013. As of
May 2014, strong winter rains had partially restored the lake, providing stronger evidence that the multiyear shrinkage was due to the ongoing drought as opposed to changes in the volcanic system.
A note regarding the name Mauna Kea. The popular translation of the Hawaiian name Mauna
Kea is frequently “White Mountain,” however, significant discussions have focused on the source of the
name. There has been growing consensus that Mauna Kea is a shortened form of Mauna a Wakea, which
refers to the sky father Wakea.
According to testaments presented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement of the Federal
Highway Administration Project No. A-AD-6(1) which included potential cultural impacts on the island
by expanding State Routes 190 and 200, “The mountain is the sacred child of Wakea, and it is the source
for the land. The mountains and land were genealogically connected to native Hawaiians through the
original ancestor, Wakea [sky father] and Papa [earth mother].”
Ethnographic research conducted prior to 1999 and released in the impact statement concluded
that the summit area of Mauna Kea was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places due to
traditional cultural property.
A note regarding Hawaiian names and nomenclature. As previously noted in other Bulletin
reports, according to Runyon (2006), “The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is responsible for
establishing and maintaining uniform geographical name usage throughout all departments and agencies
of the United States government. As such, the Board collects and promulgates every name that is
considered official for Federal use. The official vehicle for promulgating these names and their locative
attributes is the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) <http://geonames.usgs.gov>.
“Until the 1990’s, it was also Federal policy to omit most diacritics and writing marks from
placenames on Federal maps and documents. The few exceptions included the Spanish tilde and the
French accent marks, but otherwise the special characters found in indigenous names were always
dropped. In more recent years, however, the BGN has amended its policy to permit the inclusion of such
marks, thus more accurately reflecting the true representation of the native language. An example of this
has been the addition of the glottal stop (okina) and macron (kahako) to placenames of Hawaiian origin,
which prior to 1995 had always been omitted. The BGN staff, under the direction and guidance of the
Hawaii State Geographic Names Authority, has been restoring systemically these marks to each Hawaiian
name listed in GNIS.”
GVP will strive to conform to GNIS nomenclature. It remains a technological challenge, but a
goal.
References: Clague, D.A., and Dalrymple, G.B., 1987, The Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic chain.
Part I. Geologic evolution, chap. 1 of Decker, R.W, Wright, T.L., and Stauffer, PH., eds., Volcanism in
Hawaii: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350, v. 1, p. 5-54.
Daly, R.A., 1911, Magmatic differentiation in Hawaii: Journal of Geology, v. 19, no. 4, p. 289316.
Federal Highway Administration, 1999, Final Environmental Impact Statement Part 1: Hawaii
State Route 200, Mamalahoa Highway (SR 190) to Milepost 6 Saddle Road, County of Hawaiʻi, State of
Hawaiʻi, FHWA Project No. A-AD-6(1).
Ehlmann, B.L., Arvidson, R.E., Jolliff, B.L., Johnson, S.S., Ebel, B., Lovenduski, N., Morris,
J.D., Beyers, J.A., Snider, N.O., and Criss, R.E., 2005. Hydrologic and isotopic modeling of Alpine Lake
Waiau, Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaii Press, p. 1-15.
Fitzpatrick, G.L, 1986. The early mapping of Hawaii. Honolulu: Editions Limited, vol. 1, 160 pp.
Geohazards Consultants International, Inc., Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan, Volcano,
HI, March 2000, 22 p.
Gregory, H.E., and Wentworth, C.K., 1937, General features and glacial geology of Mauna Kea,
Hawaii: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 48, no. 12, p. 1719-1742.
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston (2006), Hawaii. Retrieved from
http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/hawaii.htm.
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in cumulate gabbros, Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawaii, Bulletin of Volcanology, 59, p. 186-197.
Kauahikaua, J., Hildenbrand, T., & Webring, M., 2000. Deep magmatic structures of Hawaiian
volcanoes, imaged by three-dimensional gravity models. Geology, 28, 10, p. 883.
Lockwood, J.P., and Hazlett, R.W., 2010. Volcanoes: Global Perspectives, Wiley-Blackwell,
Hoboken, NJ, ix, 539 p.
Okubo, P.G. and Nakata, J.S., 2011, Earthquakes in Hawaiʻi—An Underappreciated but Serious
Hazard, Fact Sheet 2011-3013, USGS Fact Sheet, September 2011. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3013/)
Patrick, M. R. and Delparte, D., 2014, Tracking Dramatic Changes at Hawaii’s Only Alpine
Lake: EOS (Transactions, American Geophysical Union), Vol. 95, No. 14, p. 117-118.
Porter, S.C., 1971, Holocene Eruptions of Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawaii, Science, Vol. 172 no.
3981 p. 375-377.
Stearns, H.T., and Macdonald, G.A., 1946, Geology and ground-water resources of the Island of
Hawaii: Hawaii Division of Hydrography Bulletin 9, 363 p.
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http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2000/00_06_01.html.
Swanson, D.A., 2000b, Don't be fooled by seemingly peaceful Mauna Kea Volcano--it could
erupt again: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, June 4, p. 2.
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from http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/maunakea/.
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Geologic Summary. Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest volcano, reaches 4,205 m, only 35 m above its
neighbor, Mauna Loa. In contrast to Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea lacks a summit caldera and is capped by a
profusion of cinder cones and pyroclastic deposits. Mauna Kea's rift zones are less pronounced than on
neighboring volcanoes, and the eruption of voluminous, late-stage pyroclastic material has buried much
of the early basaltic shield volcano, giving the volcano a steeper and more irregular profile. This transition
took place about 250,000 to 200,000 years ago, and much of Mauna Kea, whose Hawaiian name means
"White Mountain," was constructed during the Pleistocene. Its age and high altitude make it the only
Hawaiian volcano with glacial moraines. A road that reaches a cluster of astronomical observatories on
the summit also provides access to seasonal tropical skiing. The latest eruptions at Mauna Kea produced a
series of cinder cones and lava flows from vents on the northern and southern flanks during the early to
mid Holocene.
Information Contact: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), U.S. Geological Survey, PO Box
51, Hawaiʻi National Park, HI 96718, USA (URL: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/, Daily updates,
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php, and Weekly updates,
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/); Richard Wainscoat, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Institute for
Astronomy (URL: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/ and http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/images/aerial-tour-95/ );
Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii at Manoa, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
(URL: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu ); and Hawaii News Now (URL: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/).