Shield volcanoes in Hawaii

Shield volcanoes, huge billboards completely flat, folded only the veil of basaltic lavas, the angle of the slope reaches a few degrees. Shield volcanoes in the world is not so much; with similar structures, but much smaller, we are meeting in Iceland. Their appearance at first disappointing, because the silhouette of the mountains rather boring and monotonous. Looking at the Mauna - Loa. hard to believe that a volcano height of 4100 m, which is almost the same as the Matterhorn, which is proud of its jagged peaks is the exact opposite of a completely flat Mauna - Loa. But anyway, Mauna - Loa, the largest active volcano on earth. His profile, however, is not so even-tempered, as it seems at first sight, on a hillside there is a small sharp teeth. From the south - west PA north - east to the top of dissecting fault zone with several krateropodobnymn depressions and some cinder cones. It traces the many eruptions of the tops and slopes of the volcano, Mauna because - Loa to the same and one of the most active volcanoes of the earth (the last one hundred years of eruptions occurred on average every three and a half years). Numerous lava flows, often zhidkotekuchie sometimes reaches the sea, for example in 1950, the rate of their averages 10 miles per hour. Thus, a volcanic area Hawaii is Mauna - Loa. other-located in the south - east from her much smaller shield volcano Kilauea. Actually Kilauea is the only parasitic gently sloping (1246 m above sea urovpem) uplift in the vast south - east slope of Mauna - Loa. But since the activities of these two volcanoes runs completely independently, Kilauza is still considered a separate volcano. Main external hallmark of Kilauea is an oval apical cavity diameter A km. This caldera collapse with a relatively flat bottom, covered by young lava solidified. On the steep northern slope of the volcano is located Volcano Observatory. In a large caldera with a second, much smaller nearly circular crater with a diameter of 1000 m, it is absorbed by almost 250 meters the famous crater Halemaumau. Halemaumau means "house fire", according to legend, the home of the goddess Pele. Crater for volcanologists is particularly interesting because he, unlike other volcanoes over tens of years (until 1924) could accommodate a hot lake barks. On the surface of the lake at times, however, formed a thin crust, which soon broke through, stood seething lava. From lava fountains, Beat Up on 10 m, the wind carried the finest vitreous filaments, clusters of which are known to the north - west of the crater. Call them hair Pele. The temperature measured at the surface of the lava is around 1000 °, and in places of - for the combustion of volcanic gases, it reaches 1350 °. At a depth of 13 m measurements of the temperature set in 1175 °.