Haleakalā
| Haleakalā | ||
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.jpg) Summit region of Haleakalā |
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| height | 3055 m | |
| location | Maui , Hawaii , USA | |
| Mountains | Hawaii Islands | |
| Coordinates | 20 ° 42 '48 " N , 156 ° 15' 27" W | |
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| Type | Shield volcano | |
| Age of the rock | <1.1 million years | |
| Last eruption | circa 1790 | |
 Topographic map |
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The Haleakalā ( German mostly Haleakala ) or East Maui Volcano is a massive shield volcano that covers more than 75% of the area of the island of Maui , Hawaii . The smaller western part is formed by the West Maui Mountains .
Surname
The name Haleakalā means "house of the sun" in German and is associated with the legend that the demigod Māui captured the sun there.
Volcanism
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Haleakalā is the only volcano in the Hawaiian archipelago outside the island of Hawaii that has been active for the past 600 years. Until a few years ago, it was assumed that the last eruption occurred around 1790. More recent radiocarbon measurements indicate, however, that the last activity must be dated between 1450 and 1650.
The volcano's crater has a circumference of 34 km, making it one of the largest on earth.
Research on Haleakalā
Due to the remarkable clarity and dryness of the air and the altitude of over 3000 meters above sea level, the summit of Haleakalā, like that of Mauna Kea, is very suitable as a location for optical astronomical instruments. Experts from all over the world come to the “Science City” complex, where telescopes from the University of Hawaii , the US Air Force and other organizations are operated. The Air Force's Advanced Electro-Optical System ( AEOS ) is the largest telescope on Haleakalā with a mirror diameter of 3.67 m. It was one of the first telescopes to be equipped with adaptive optics . This makes it possible to take pictures of satellites flying past at an altitude of 400 km with a resolution of approx. 10 cm. Further instruments are a 1.6 and two 1.2 meter mirror telescopes and a modernized Baker-Nunn camera . The Haleakalā is also home to the Smithsonian Institution and the FAA . At the moment, a new 4M telescope, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), is under construction, which will serve to research the sun from 2019. The main area will be research into the sun's magnetic field.
See also
Web links
- Haleakalā National Park
- HVO: East Maui, or Haleakala-- A Potentially Hazardous Volcano , USGS (English)
- Ken Hon, ea: Field interpretation of active volcanoes. A handbook for viewing lava , Geology Dept., University of Hilo, Hawaii, 2008 (especially p. 47 ff.) (PDF, English; 8.3 MB)