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The island of Hawaii has several volcanoes on it in various stages of activity. The Kohala Mountains
are extinct volcanoes and Mauna Kea is dormant. There are three active volcanoes on the Big Island:
All three volcanoes are shield
volcanoes. (Click to find out what a shield volcano is.)
Please visit my
Places to See Hawaii Volcanoes National Park page for pictures. If you want to see pictures
of the live lava, please visit the Volcano Gallery
If you want an up-to-the-minute description of what Puu Oo is doing, please call 808-985-6000 for
a very complete message. A trip to the bottom of Chain of Craters Road is very interesting.
You will see many former spatter cones on the way down and, if the lava is flowing, the park
service will assist you in getting close enough to the flow site to touch the lava (of course,
you would never do that.) Start off early in the day, unless you are planning on nighttime viewing
and are prepared with flashlights. Plan on a hot hike of 3 to 4 miles round trip. Its worth it.
Where else in the world can you see this?
When you are in the Park, you will want to stop at the Thurston Lava Tube, which is in the middle of
a giant tree fern forest. Speaking of lava tubes of which shield volcanoes have plenty, please see the
information on the Wild Lava Tube hike
On the subject of different types of lava, I have the perfect place for you to visit. When you are at Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park, stop in and see the Jagger Museum
or visit the types of lava now.
Big Island Lava Zones
Have a look at the map below for the lava zones. I believe that most insurers will not provide coverage
for volcanic hazard in zones 1 and 2.
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