Hawaii is known as a great destination for those that want to get married in an exotic place. It is also a great place to study the geographical impact of volcanoes. Shield volcanoes have surfaced and spread into somewhat large land masses to form the Islands of Hawaii. Out of all volcanoes on these islands, only three are active today, Maunaloa, Kilauea, and Loihi.
Manualoa’s last eruption was in 1984, but still makes for a great tourist attraction. Manualoa and Kilauea are found in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park; however, Loihi is an underwater volcano, off the southern tip of Hawaii. Loihi’s last eruption was in 1996, and even though it is still underwater, several thousand years from now it will become another island added to the eight that already makes up Hawaii.
Kilauea has continuously erupted since 1983, making it the worlds most active volcano. Rocks that date over 25,000 years old have been found from this volcano. The early Hawaiians named the volcano Kilauea, which means “spewing” or “much spreading”. Since 1994 this extremely active volcano has added more than 491 acres of land to Hawaii’s “Big Island”.
As much of Hawaii is a beautiful land and great for tourists, the volcanoes are not always exciting to be around. Since the eruption started in 1982, Kilauea has destroyed over 200 homes and businesses, and threatened some of the wildlife within the rain forest. Another volcano, Mauna Loa, is feared to erupt soon, as scientists are saying its gaining pressure and swelling; however, residents of Hawaii are used to hearing news bulletins come across their television screens about the volcano Kilauea acting up. Tourists tend to have short stays in Hawaii, never fully understanding what its like to live day to day, wondering if your home is going to be next.
One of the main attractions of Hawaii, is that visitors go to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, get to see an active volcano up close and personal. When visiting this park there is a lot of nature to cover, as the park stretches a large 377 square miles. There is a hotel that formed from a grass hut years back, it overlooks the crater of the volcano. This park is also famous for having the only natural made rain forest in the National Parks system, making it unique and the wildlife inside untouchable. Compared to some of the other United State’s Parks, this one seems to bring in more spectators and beauty than the others.