Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lava
19.353836°N 154.990369°W

Lava flow (pahoehoe) in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Pu’u O’o in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
19.383889°N 155.109372°W

Vent on the side of Kilauea Volcano called Pu’u O’o in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
19.314700°N 155.025619°W

Lava coming from the vent Pu’u O’o hitting the ocean in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
19.302558°N 155.071906°W

Lava coming from the vent at Pu’u O’o hitting the ocean in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park skylight
19.356317°N 155.089511°W

An image of what geologists call a skylight – the lava is flowing through a tube under old solidified lava but sometimes breaks through and causes a skylight to form – in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park caldera
19.381958°N 155.264661°W

The crater in the center on the top of Kilauea Volcano surrounded by another rimmed featured called a caldera in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The caldera forms when the top of the volcano collapses into the magma chamber below whereas a crater is the site of previous eruptions.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lava lake
19.389681°N 155.103983°W

Small crater lake on the side of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lava
19.355708°N 154.986264°W

Lava flow that crossed a highway in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
19.364353°N 154.976725°W

Car that was swallowed by a lava flow in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
19.311875°N 155.062019°W

Close-up view of lava explosively hitting the water in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Map of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was established as a national park in 1916 on the large island of Hawaii. There are five volcanoes that constitute the island of Hawaii and two of them are active: Mauna Loa (the largest volcano in the world) and Kilauea. The park consists of land from both these volcanoes.

Native Hawaiians considered Kilauea volcano to be the home of their goddess Pele. The first Europeans to visit the region were missionaries and did so in 1823.

The formation of the Hawaiian Island chain and a string of seamounts (old volcanoes that have eroded below sea level) and islands that run all the way to just off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia (called the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain), were formed as the Pacific seafloor moved over a huge magma chamber residing deep within the earth below the present day island of Hawaii. These types of magma chambers are referred to as hot spots by geologists, and the islands they form can only be explained through the processes of plate tectonics. At one time each of the seamounts and islands sat over the hot spot but then moved toward the northwest as the Pacific plate migrated in that direction. In other words the chain of volcanoes becomes progressively older toward the northwest. The same is true for the islands in the Hawaiian chain. The only active island is the big island of Hawaii and the oldest island is Kauai (oldest eruptions are 5.6 million years old) furthest to the northwest in the chain.

Pāhoehoe Lava and ʻAʻā flows

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 encompasses two active volcanoes: Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive volcano. The park gives scientists insight into the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and ongoing studies into the processes of vulcanism. For visitors, the park offers dramatic volcanic landscapes as well as glimpses of rare flora and fauna.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
• Hillman 1000 Wonders