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Country: | United States | |
| Subregion Name: | Hawaiian Islands | ||
| Volcano Number: | 1302-06- | ||
| Volcano Type: | Shield volcano | ||
| Volcano Status: | Anthropology | ||
| Last Known Eruption: | 1750 (?) | ||
| Summit Elevation: | 3055 m | 10,023 feet | |
| Latitude: | 20.708°N | 20°42'30"N | |
| Longitude: | 156.25°W | 156°15'0"W | |
| The massive Haleakala shield volcano forms the eastern portion of the dumbbell-shaped island of Maui. The summit of 3055-m Haleakala contains a dramatic, 3.5 x 9.5 km summit crater that is widely breached on the north and SE sides. The "crater" is not of volcanic origin, but formed as a result of the coalescence of headward erosion of the Koolau and Kaupo valleys. Subsequently the crater has been partially filled by a chain of young cinder cones and lava flows erupted along a major rift zone that extends across the basaltic shield volcano from the SW to the east flanks. Another less prominent rift zone trends north from the summit. The most recent eruption of Haleakala was thought to have occurred between the exploring voyages of La Perouse in 1786 and Vancouver in 1793, but uncertainty surrounds the date of this event, which could have occurred in about 1750 AD (anthropological evidence) or several centuries earlier (radiocarbon dates). | |||
