As reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Kilauea volcano, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, has erupted. The Halemaumau crater has expelled several columns of ash and lava flows . For now, the eruptive activity is located in the Volcanoes National Park, so the authorities have called for calm because there are no homes in danger.
It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. In the 20th century, 50 eruptions took place. The last one happened in 2018, when a strong eruption forced thousands of people to evacuate and destroyed more than 700 homes. It spewed enough lava to fill 320,000 Olympic swimming pools, which flowed for four months.
As indicated by Oregon State University, Kilauea is a shield volcano . That is, it does not have a steep and conical silhouette, but is composed of a very extensive mass formed by basalt, a type of lava that instead of accumulating, flows at full speed.
URGENT 🛑 # Hawaii
Kilauea volcano erupts. The United States Geological Survey sends out a red alert. pic.twitter.com/JZQRJ0Tz4r– 🅸🅽🅵🅾🆂🅸🆂🅼🅾🅻🅾🅶🅸🅲 (@ EarthquakeChil1) September 30, 2021
The oldest lava flows from the volcano are underwater and, according to various studies, are 300,000 years old . The volcano emerged over the sea approximately 70,000 years ago.
Like the other volcanoes in Hawaii, Kilauea was formed when the Pacific tectonic plate passed over the archipelago’s hot spot .
The first documented eruption of Kilauea occurred in 1823 . Since then, it has erupted 61 times, which is why it is considered one of the most active and dangerous in the world.
Curiosities about the Kilauea volcano that will surprise you
A very interesting fact about this volcano is that it has been erupting since 1983, continuously . Although most of the time the activity is discreet, others, as is happening right now, causes the evacuation of nearby populated areas.
At the summit it has a large caldera, 165 meters deep and 5 kilometers wide in the main depression .
It should be noted that the sister volcano of Kilauea, whose name is Mauna Kea, is higher than Everest . Most of it is underwater, but if measured from the ocean base, it is more than 10,000 meters high.
