Mt.+Kilauea

introduction

On the Island of Hawaii, Mt. Kilauea is the youngest and southeastern most volcano. The continuous eruption of Kilauea started in 1983 and has been erupting ever since. Kilauea is believed the be the home of the Hawaiian volcano goddess, Pele. There have been 34 eruptions since 1952. Mt. Kilauea is a shield volcano. Kilauea is surrounded by volcanic rock, and has a circumfrence of 8mi (13km) It is in its 18th year of continuous eruption. It has destroyed many homes in the town of Kupaianaha.

=**Impact**=

Tourism has greatly increased in Hawaii since the discovery of Mt.Kilauea. In a 9 month period, over 100 homes were destroyed in 1990. Since Kilauea is continuuosly erupting, the island of Hawaii increases 3.5 meters every day. Mt. Kiliuea is the youngest volcano in hawaii. Of all the lava that is covering it, 90% is less than 1,100 years old. Most of the eruptions occur in the summit or near the southwest rift zones. I n late November 1968, the lava flowing from kilauea spreazd across the costal highway closing it down. The oldest rock from it is dated to be about 23,000 years old.

=The future=