East Molokai Volcano
{{Short description|Extinct shield volcano in Hawaii}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = East Molokai Volcano
| other_name = Wailau
| photo = Starr 050729-3021 Washingtonia sp..jpg
| photo_caption = Aerial photo of the southwestern flank of East Molokai Volcano
| elevation_m = 1512
| location = Molokai, Hawaii,
United States
| range = Hawaiian Islands
| coordinates = {{coord |21.11|N| 156.84|W|type:mountain_region:US-HI |display=inline,title}}
| topo =
| type = Shield volcano
| age =
| volcanic_arc/belt = Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
| last_eruption =
}}
The East Molokai Volcano, sometimes also known as Wailau for the Wailau valley on its north side, is an extinct shield volcano comprising the eastern two-thirds of the island of Moloka{{okina}}i in the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Description
The East Molokai has a width of {{Convert|70|km|mi|abbr=on}} and a length of {{Convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}}. It is overlapped by the West Molokai, Lanai and Haleakalā shield volcanoes. Its shield formation began two million years ago and ended 1.5 million years ago whereas its postshield eruptions occurred 1.5 to 1.3 million years ago. The pahoehoe shield volcano of the Kalaupapa Peninsula postdates the main shield volcano of East Molokai and is considered to represent the last volcanic phase of East Molokai.{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Charles A.|author2=Kienle, Jürgen|page=328|title=Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada|year=1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=0-521-43811-X}}
East Molokai was one of the seven principal volcanoes, along with West Molokai, Lāna{{okina}}i, West Maui, East Maui, Penguin Bank and Kaho{{okina}}olawe, that formerly constituted the island of Maui Nui.
The highest point is the peak called Kamakou on the southern rim, at {{coord |21|6|23|N| 156|52|5|W| type:landmark_region:US-HI |display=inline |name=Kamakou }}.{{GNIS |360248 |Kamakou }}{{Hawaiian Dictionaries |Kamakou |dic=pp |access-date= November 12, 2010 }} The Pēpē{{okina}}ōpae bog is just below the rim.{{GNIS |363254 |Pēpē‘ōpae}}
The northern flank of the volcano has been truncated by enormous cliffs rising {{convert|900|m|ft|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} from the sea. The sea cliffs were formed when the northern third of the East Molokai Volcano suddenly collapsed and slid off into the sea, about 1.4 million years ago. The landslide was so fast and powerful that it extended {{convert|190|km|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} into the sea, and generated a {{convert|600|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2|adj=on}}-high megatsunami that inundated the rest of Molokai and severely damaged the surrounding Hawaiian Islands before eventually reaching the coastlines of California and Mexico.{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/kala/learn/management/upload/MinkVI.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216125954/https://www.nps.gov/kala/learn/management/upload/MinkVI.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2017|title=Kalaupapa Settlement Boundary Study. Along North Shore to Halawa Valley, Molokai|publisher=National Park Service|date=2001|access-date=2020-06-29}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
- {{cite web|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0961/report.pdf|author=Melvin H. Beeson|title=Petrology, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of the East Molokai Volcanic Series, Hawaii|publisher=United States Geological Survey|year=1976|access-date=2014-01-29}}
- {{cite gvp|name=East Molokai|vn=332805}}
{{Hawaiian volcanism}}
Category:Volcanoes of Maui Nui
Category:Geography of Kalawao County, Hawaii
Category:Geography of Maui County, Hawaii
Category:Shield volcanoes of the United States
Category:Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
Category:Polygenetic shield volcanoes
Category:Extinct volcanoes of the United States