What year did the Park become an official National Park and why? 

• On August 1, 1916, The Hawaii Volcanoes became a National Park. President Woodrow Wilson signed the country's 13th national park into existence.

• It became a National Park because of its huge land features such as the Mauna Loa volcano. These sites are accessible by tourists because the "Eruptions are much gentler" in this area. It is an area where people can walk on the hardened lava. Also, during volcano activity, people can actually view active lava flows.

U.S. Map

HAWAII VOLCANOES NP

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Map

Topographic Map

What environmental issues are affecting the park?

The volcanoes are releasing sulfur dioxide gas into the atmosphere. This gas creates fog which is called volcanic smog. The fog keeps the sunlight from getting to the plants so they can grow. This has caused dangerous pollution that is hazardous to breathe. Many of the plants that used to grow in abundance have now stopped growing. Many of the plant species only exist in Hawaii so they can face extinction.

Animal habitats are being effected as well. When there are new lava flows, they continue to destroy whatever is remaining in the path of the lava. Many plants may become extinct because there are not as many as there used to be and the animals continue to eat whatever is remaining for food. Once the plants stop growing or become extinct, animals that eat the plants will eventually die because they will have no food. Hawaii is the number one state for extinctions and endangered species.

What special landforms or features are inside your park?

LAVA TREES CINDER CONES

PIT CRATERS VOLCANOES VOLCANIC ROCKS

How is technology used to help, preserve and maintain the park?Scientists are using computer software to be able to predict when avolcano might erupt next. They can use this information to protecthumans and possibly some areas of plants.

They use laser technology that can tell scientists how an area has changed over time so they can predict where the best place would be to plant new plants in an area where they predict might not be damaged by lava.

What types of rocks can be found inside the park?

There are several different types of volcanic rocks that are found in the Hawaii Volcano National Park such as:

Volcanic bomb Picritic Basalt Pele’s TearsPele’s tears is formedby small bits of moltenLava that soon solidifiesand forms tiny glassparticles called Pele’s tears. These are Igneous as well.

Picritc Basalt is formedin high temperatures. It forms2 miles underground in the Magma chamber. This rock isIgneous.

Volcanic bombs are lavafragments. Most are largeand round. They are usuallyfound as 64 mm in diameter. They are Igneousrocks,

How was the park formed? (From an Earth Science Perspective)

In the beginning, five shield volcanoes erupted during the Pleistocene Period allowing for the formation of the Hawaii Volcanoes in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As the volcanoes erupted, this lava would harden eventually forming the island itself. The islands have never stopped forming and will continue to do so as long as there is volcanic activity.

The island is located on the Pacific plate which is the largest tectonic plate on earth. As the plate expanded over millions of years, it has affected the growth of the islands.

How is the land inside the park currently changing?

Since Kilauea and Mauna Loa are the most active volcanoes in the Park and in the world, they continue to allow for the parks to grow.

The molten lava they create eventually hardens creating more land surface. As long as the volcanoes remain active, the land mass will continue to grow. The molten lava can also cause destruction creating changes in the park continuously. An area that was once covered by plant life one day can become covered with lava the following day.

Pictures and Diagrams

Lava flowing into ocean

Volcano Diagram

Lava destroying trees Diagram of how volcanoes are formed

Erupting volcano

Erupting Volcano

BibliographyHTTP://easybib.com/key/3B627d LINK TO BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITEAnderson, Genny. Hawaii: Geology, Plate Tectonics/Hot Spot. Hawaii: Geology, Plate Tectonics/Hot Spot. Genny Anderson, 2013. www.marinebio.net/marinescience/02ocean/hwgeo.htm

PICSG, Jennifer. Presentations That Inspire. 1997. Presentation Software. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.

MAGAZINEGoldberg, Susan, ed. "Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park - National Geographic." National Geographic. National Geographic, 2012

WEBSITEHawaii The Big Island. www.gohawaii.com/en/big-island/regions-neighborhoods/kau/hawaii-volcanoes-national-park

WEBSITE"Hawaii Volcanoes National Park." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. http://www.deephawaii.com/aboutvolcanoes.htm.

Bibliography ContinuedENCYCLOPEDIA"Hawaii Volcanoes National Park." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Nov. 2011

JOURNAL ONLINEUnited States. National Park Service. US Department of the Interior. National Parks Service. By United States. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 17 Jan. 2016

WEBSITEUS Department of the Interior. Geologic Resources Inventory Report. N.p.: US Department of the Interior, n.d. Thornberry-Ehrlich, 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/publications/reports/havo_gri_rpt_view.pdf

BOOKMacdonald, Gordon A., and Agatin Townsend Abbott. Volcanoes in the Sea: The Geology of Hawaii. Honolulu: U of Hawaii, 1970. Print

PICS"Volcanic Rock." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.

PICSVolcanoes Shaped Our Planet. 2013. Volcanoes. By Tas Walker. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.

Photos used from Google Images