The island of Hawaii is home to five volcanoes, three of which can be observed here in this orthorectified image. These are, clockwise from the upper right, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hual?lai.

Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano in the post-shield stage of volcanic evolution. Its peak is 13,803 feet (4,207 m) above sea level but 33,476 feet (10,203 m) above its base on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, making it the world’s tallest mountain by this measure. The rounded formations on its flanks are various cinder cones.

Mauna Loa is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km³). Its peak, with an elevation of 13,679 feet (4,169 m), is about 120 feet lower than that of Mauna Kea.

Hual?lai is a dormant shield volcano with a peak at 8,271 feet (2,521 m) above sea level, much lower than those of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Although Hual?lai is not nearly as active as nearby Mauna Loa, geologic mapping of the volcano shows that 80 percent of Hual?lai’s surface is covered by lava flows no older than about 5,000 years.

Read Full Article and View Full Size Image

Read about Orthophotography here

View Source

The AP is reporting on the new center to go up in Volcanoes National Park using the new Federal Stimulus Money from the Obama Administration:

The new center will replace the current 1,200-square-foot station, where park rangers and eruption crew members are based.

Officials say the $6 million project will more than triple the size of the center, which is the first stop for visitors registering for back country hikes or seeking emergency medical help. The facility also will house the Pacific Area Communications Center, which serves as the communications base for all of Hawaii’s national parks.

Officials say the remaining stimulus money will go toward road and trail improvements.

The new center is slated for opening next fall.

The park is a great resource that Im glad to see getting the money!

Read Full Article

Its been a family goal to try this some day!

With mobile accommodations, I would no longer have to shuttle between the resort and the island’s constellation of attractions. In my Volkswagen Westfalia camper, I would, in hippie parlance, have a more organic, free-spirited, chase-the-tail-of-the-whale experience. I could be spontaneous with my schedule, because I knew that most of my substantive needs (food, water, full-stretch sleep) lay just behind the driver’s seat. In addition, by removing myself from the tourist setting, I could be part of a scene true to the Hawaiian lifestyle and environment. And finally, in my drive-up hotel, I could snag $500-a-night ocean views without sacrificing my wallet.

“This is for the adventurer who wants to see Hawaii for what it really is,” said Teri Fritz, who runs Happy Campers Hawaii on the Big Island with her boyfriend, Bud Turpin. “You can wake up to a sea turtle in the water or the volcanoes at the national park. You’re not going to get that sitting at a hotel.”

Read Full Article

Hawaii has several hair-raising roads, including the sinuous Hana Highway and the switchbacks to the top of Haleakala. But the one that takes the cake is Saddle Road on the Big Island, which threads a vast lave-rock desert between two of the most imposing volcanoes anywhere in the planet. Long-time Big Island resident Jessica Ferracane says the Saddle is especially daunting after dark because there are no facilities, no lights, no nothing. “And if it’s foggy, Saddle can be harsh.”

Add a pinch of vertigo by taking one of the narrow side roads that run off The Saddle to the top of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The former is a whopper-a series of switchbacks and hairpins to the Onizuka Center for Astronomy at 9,300 feet. You can keep driving up an increasingly steep (and treacherous) road to the cluster of silver-domed observatories on the 14,000-foot summit, but you’ll need four-wheel drive to make the top.

Read Full Article