Saturday, August 1, 2009

Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park




Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaiʻi on the island of Hawaiʻi. It displays the results of hundreds of thousands of years of volcanism, migration, and evolution—processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct Ancient Hawaiian culture. Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the most massive, offer scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and visitors' views of dramatic volcanic landscapes. In recognition of its outstanding natural values, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and a World Heritage Site in 1987.

The volcanic activity generated in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park helped create Kalapana (now covered by lava from recent eruptions) and other black sand beaches. Within the park boundaries are the Thurston Lava Tube, a lava tube approximately 540 years old with a short hiking trail running through it, and the Kīlauea Caldera, skirted by the Volcano House Hotel, and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory which operates the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum.

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