Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount
Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (previously known as Lōʻihi) is an active submarine volcano about 22 mi (35 km) off the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii. The top of the seamount is about 3,200 ft (975 m) below sea level. This seamount is on the flank of Mauna Loa, the largest active subaerial shield volcano on Earth. Kamaʻehuakanaloa is the newest volcano in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, a string of volcanoes that stretches about 3,900 mi (6,200 km) northwest of Kamaʻehuakanaloa. Unlike most active volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean that make up the active plate margins on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Kamaʻehuakanaloa and the other volcanoes of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain are hotspot volcanoes and formed well away from the nearest plate boundary. Volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands arise from the Hawaii hotspot, and as the youngest volcano in the chain, Kamaʻehuakanaloa is the only Hawaiian volcano in the deep submarine preshield stage of development.
| Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount | |
|---|---|
Yellow iron oxide-covered lava rock on the flank of Kamaʻehuakanaloa | |
Southeast of the island of Hawaiʻi, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| Summit depth | 3,200 ft (975 m). |
| Height | over 10,000 ft (3,000 m) above the ocean floor |
| Summit area | Volume – 160 cu mi (670 km3) |
| Translation | "glowing child of Kanaloa" (from Hawaiian) |
| Location | |
| Location | Southeast of the island of Hawaiʻi, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 18.92°N 155.27°W |
| Country | United States |
| Geology | |
| Type | Submarine volcano |
| Volcanic arc/chain | Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain |
| Age of rock | At least 400,000 years old |
| Last eruption | February to August 1996 |
| History | |
| Discovery date | 1940 – U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey chart number 4115 |
| First visit | 1978 |
Kamaʻehuakanaloa began forming around 400,000 years ago and is expected to begin emerging above sea level about 10,000–100,000 years from now. At its summit, Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount stands more than 10,000 ft (3,000 m) above the seafloor, making it taller than Mount St. Helens was before its catastrophic 1980 eruption. A diverse microbial community resides around Kamaʻehuakanaloa many hydrothermal vents.
In the summer of 1996, a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes was recorded at Kamaʻehuakanaloa. At the time this was the most energetic earthquake swarm in Hawaii recorded history. The swarm altered 4 to 5 sq mi (10 to 13 km2) of the seamount's summit; one section, Pele's Vents, collapsed entirely upon itself and formed the renamed Pele's Pit. The volcano has remained relatively active since the 1996 swarm and is monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory (HUGO) provided real-time data on Kamaʻehuakanaloa between 1997 and 1998. Kamaʻehuakanaloa's last known eruption was in 1996, before the earthquake swarm of that summer.