Resource

VIDEO

Resource

VIDEO

Hawai'i Geology

Bob Ballard travels to Hawai'i to explore the terrestrial and deep sea geology of the Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world.

Grades

6 - 12+

Subjects

Earth Science, Geology, Oceanography, Geography

Partner

Earth’s rocky outer shell, its crust, is actually made of dozens of huge pieces of rock known as tectonic plates. These plates ride on currents of molten rock in the upper mantle, which lies just below the crust. Activity in the mantle and crustal plates results in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Most of these seismic events take place where two plates come together or tear apart.

The Hawaiian Islands, however, sit in the middle of the Pacific plate. They lie over a hot spot, where magma from the mantle pushes to the surface. The Hawai'i hot spot remains in one place while the Pacific plate moves steadily northwest. Hawai'i’s “Big Island” is still being formed by Mauna Loa and Kilauea, two volcanoes currently sitting over the hot spot. Loihi, an undersea volcano, also sits above the hot spot and will likely become the next Hawaiian island.

Fast Fact

The Loihi seamount is an active volcano on the seafloor about 35 kilometers (22 miles) southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Fast Fact

Mauna Kea sits 4,205 meters (13,796 feet) above sea level, but its total height from the seafloor to its summit is 10,200 meters (33,500 feet).

Fast Fact

Hydrothermal vents on the seafloor were first discovered, sampled, and photographed in 1977. Scientists had long suspected that these undersea geysers existed but were shocked to find the thriving community of organisms living around them without access to sunlight.

Credits

Media Credits

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Writer

Meghan E. Marrero

Editor

Caryl-Sue Micalizio, National Geographic Society

Educator Reviewer

Julie Brown, National Geographic Society

Producers

Winn Brewer

Julie Brown, National Geographic Society

Alison Michel

other

Last Updated

September 27, 2022

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