The Explosive Truth:
A Volcano's Lifecycle
Audio Tour
A New Island in the Making
Have you ever wondered where Hawaiʻi’s volcanoes get their start? Well, under the sea of course! The rock you see before you is a very special piece of an underwater volcano that is currently growing 35 miles off the Southeastern coast of Hawaiʻi Island or the Big Island. The name of this volcano is Lōʻihi, which is the Hawaiian word for long, and it has this name because of its elongated shape. Lōʻihi has already risen 13,000 feet off of the ocean floor but still has about 3,000 feet to go before it reaches the surface. This might not seem that far to go, but depending on eruption rates it will take Lōʻihi between 30,000 and 100,000 years to break the surface and officially become the next Hawaiian Island.
Underwater volcanoes like Lōʻihi are home to a type of lava rock called pillow lava, known for their pillow-like shape which is formed when hot lava reacts with cold ocean water and extreme pressure forces all of the gasses out of the lava, creating a very heavy and dense type of lava rock. So, volcanoes can exist underwater, but where does the lava come from? Let’s see if we can uncover the mystery at our next stop!