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MAUNA KEA
Theworld’stallestmountain
Forthecompleteillustrationswithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/mauna-kea/
TheillustrationaboveisfromthesupplementtotheSeptember2012issueof
NationalGeographicmagazine.Downloadthefileandopentoviewinfull.
HawaiiistheyoungestandlargestofachainofislandsmakinguptheHawaiian
archipelago.Thearchipelagoiscomposedofeightmainislandsandseveral
smallerislandsandatolls,whichwereonceactivevolcanoesthathavesince
sunkanderodedovermillionsofyears.TheHawaiianarchipelagoforms
becauseofthepresenceofahotspotmorethan1,448kilometers(900miles)
deepintheEarth’scrust.AsthePacifictectonicplatemovesnorthwestoverthe
hotspot—atarateofabout7.6centimeters(3inches)peryear—magmafrom
thehotspotbreaksthroughtheplate’scrusttoformvolcaniclandmasses.As
thePacificplatemovesfromthesoutheasttothenorthwest,theolderislands
getfartherfromthehotspotandbeginaprocessofsinkinganderoding.Niihau,
themostnorthwesterlyofthemainHawaiianIslands,isabout6millionyears
old.Hawaii,theyoungestofthemainislands,remainsclosetothehotspot,and
atlessthan1millionyearsold,itisstillformingasthehotspotfeedslavatoits
activeKilaueavolcano.
MaunaKea,oneofsixvolcanoesthathaveformedtheislandofHawaii,isthe
tallestmountainonEarthat9,966meters(32,696feet,6.2miles).Thisis1,116
meters(3,661feet,0.7miles)tallerthanMountEverestandroughlythesame
heightintheatmospherewherecommercialairplanesfly.With4,205meters
(13,796feet,2.6miles)abovesealevel,morethanhalfofMaunaKea’sheight
fallsbelowthesurfaceoftheocean,withitsbasereaching5,761meters
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(18,900feet,3.6miles)deep.MaunaKeaisdormant,havinglasterupted4,600
yearsago.Kohalaistheisland’soldestvolcanoandisnowextinct.Hualalailast
eruptedin1801,andMaunaLoalasteruptedin1984.Kilaueahasbeenerupting
activelysince1983.
ThegeologiclandscapeofHawaii’sislandshaschangedgreatlyovertime,which
hasalsoimpacteditsecologiclandscape.AsHawaii’svolcanicislandsriseand
fall,organismsmustadapttoaseriesoftransitionalhabitatsbothaboveand
belowtheoceansurface.Intermsofthehabitatsandspeciesthatarepartof
MaunaKea—fromitsmountainpeaktoitsoceandeep—thecolossalmountainis
notonlytall,buthighinbiodiversityaswell.MaunaKea’svarietyofterrestrial
habitatsincludesstonedeserts,shrublands,alpinewoodlands,andtropical
forests.Thesevariedhabitatsarehometoseveralendemicspeciesthatare
onlyfoundonHawaiiortheHawaiianarchipelago.Theoceanhabitatsthat
characterizeMaunaKeaareequallyvariedandfulloflife.Thegreatestquantity
ofmarinelifeisfoundbetweenthesurfaceandadepthof1,189meters(3,900
feet,0.7miles)inthesunlightzoneandtwilightrealm.Below3,900feetarethe
midnightzoneandabyss,whicharedark,cold,underhighpressures,and
lackinginfood.Speciesintheseextremeenvironmentshavedevelopedunique
adaptationstoregulatetheirtemperatures,protectthemselves,helpthem
locatefood,communicate,andfindmates.
FastFacts
TwentymilessoutheastofHawaiiistheLoihiseamount,anactiveunderwater
volcanothatispredictedtoriseabovetheoceansurfaceinthenext50,000
years.ThatmeansitcouldbecometheninthmainHawaiianisland.
DuetoitsremotelocationinthePacific,MaunaKeaisfreefromtheartificial
lightthatiscommoninhighlypopulatedareas.Combinedwithitselevationof
4,205meters(13,796feet,2.6miles),thesummitofMaunaKeaistheideal
locationfortheinternationalastronomicalobservatoryandthe13
internationaltelescopeslocatedthere.
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UnlikethehotspotthatformedMaunaKea,MountEverestformedasthe
resultofaconvergenttectonicboundary.Astwocontinentalplatescame
together,thecrustbuckledandpushedupward,creatingtheHimalayan
mountainrange.AstheIndianandEurasianplatescontinuetocollide,the
elevationofMountEverestincreasesby1-3centimeterseachyear.
Vocabulary
Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
amodificationofanorganismoritspartsthatmakesit
adaptation
noun
morefitforexistence.Anadaptationispassedfrom
generationtogeneration.
agroupofcloselyscatteredislandsinalargebodyof
archipelago
noun
atoll
noun
biodiversity
noun
endemic
adjectivenativetoaspecificgeographicspace.
geology
noun
habitat
noun
water.
acoralreeforstringofcoralislandsthatsurroundsa
lagoon.
allthedifferentkindsoflivingorganismswithinagiven
area.
studyofthephysicalhistoryoftheEarth,itscomposition,
itsstructure,andtheprocessesthatformandchangeit.
environmentwhereanorganismlivesthroughoutthe
yearorforshorterperiodsoftime.
intenselyhotregiondeepwithintheEarththatrisesto
hotspot
noun
justunderneaththesurface.Somehotspotsproduce
volcanoes.
oceanographynoun
plate
tectonics
seamount
noun
noun
studyoftheocean.
movementandinteractionoftheEarth'splates.
underwatermountain.
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Partof
Term
Definition
Speech
volcano
noun
anopeningintheEarth'scrust,throughwhichlava,ash,
andgaseserupt,andalsotheconebuiltbyeruptions.
InstructionalContent
NationalGeographic:DeepSeaEcosystems—ExtremeLiving
NationalGeographic:UnderseaGeology
NationalGeographic:TypesofVolcanicEruptions
Video
NationalGeographic:AlienDeepGeology—ExploringHawaii’sUnderwater
Hotspots
Websites
NationalGeographicChannel:AlienDeep
NOAA:EducationResources—OceanandCoasts:OceanFloorFeatures
Funder
ThismaterialisbasedinpartuponworksupportedbytheNational
ScienceFoundationunderGrantNo.DRL-1114251.Anyopinions,
findings,andconclusionsorrecommendationsexpressedinthis
materialarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyreflectthe
viewsoftheNationalScienceFoundation.
©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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