Māhukona

Māhukona
Māhukona

Location in Hawaii

Highest point
Elevation −3,770 feet (−1,149 m)
Coordinates 20°01′N 156°01′W / 20.017°N 156.017°W / 20.017; -156.017Coordinates: 20°01′N 156°01′W / 20.017°N 156.017°W / 20.017; -156.017
Geography
Location Hawaii, US
Parent range Hawaiian Islands
Topo map USGS Kamuela
Geology
Mountain type Shield volcano, Hotspot volcano
Volcanic arc/belt Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
Last eruption About 470,000 BP

Māhukona is a submerged shield volcano on the northwestern flank of the Island of Hawaiʻi. A drowned coral reef at about 3,770 feet (-1,150 m) below sea level and a major break in slope at about 4,400 feet (-1,340 m) below sea level represent old shorelines. The summit of the shield volcano was once 800 feet (250 m) above sea level. It has now subsided below sea level. A roughly circular caldera marks the summit of Māhukona. A prominent rift zone extends to the west. A second rift zone probably extended to the east but has been buried by younger volcanoes. The main shield-building stage of volcanism ended about 470,000 years ago. The summit of the shield volcano subsided below sea level between 435,000 and 365,000 years ago.[1] This makes Māhukona the oldest volcano to build Hawaiʻi island, compared to Kohala to the east and Hualālai to the southeast.[2] The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute investigated the area with a remotely controlled submarine in 2001.[3]

It was named for the area known as Māhukona on the shore to the northeast.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Mahukona, Hawaii". Volcano World. Oregon State University. Retrieved June 23, 2010. attributed to:
    David A. Clague; James G. Moore (April 1991). "Geology and Petrology of Mahukona Volcano". Hawaii: Bulletin of Volcanology. 53 (3): 159–172. Bibcode:1991BVol...53..159C. doi:10.1007/BF00301227.
  2. ↑ "Volcanoes of the Big Island". Volcano Watch. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. September 15, 1995. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Hawaii Cruise: March 13, 2001 to June 2, 2001". Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  4. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Māhukona

Further reading


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