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Illustration
MEDIASPOTLIGHT
MaunaKea
Theworld’stallestmountain
Forthecompleteillustrationswithmediaresources,visit:
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/media/mauna-kea/
TheillustrationaboveisfromthesupplementtotheSeptember2012issueofNationalGeographicmagazine.
Downloadthefileandopentoviewinfull.
HawaiiistheyoungestandlargestofachainofislandsmakinguptheHawaiianarchipelago.Thearchipelagois
composedofeightmainislandsandseveralsmallerislandsandatolls,whichwereonceactivevolcanoesthathave
sincesunkanderodedovermillionsofyears.TheHawaiianarchipelagoformsbecauseofthepresenceofahot
spotmorethan1,448kilometers(900miles)deepintheEarth’scrust.AsthePacifictectonicplatemoves
northwestoverthehotspot—atarateofabout7.6centimeters(3inches)peryear—magmafromthehotspot
breaksthroughtheplate’scrusttoformvolcaniclandmasses.AsthePacificplatemovesfromthesoutheasttothe
northwest,theolderislandsgetfartherfromthehotspotandbeginaprocessofsinkinganderoding.Niihau,the
mostnorthwesterlyofthemainHawaiianIslands,isabout6millionyearsold.Hawaii,theyoungestofthemain
islands,remainsclosetothehotspot,andatlessthan1millionyearsold,itisstillformingasthehotspotfeeds
lavatoitsactiveKilaueavolcano.
MaunaKea,oneofsixvolcanoesthathaveformedtheislandofHawaii,isthetallestmountainonEarthat9,966
meters(32,696feet,6.2miles).Thisis1,116meters(3,661feet,0.7miles)tallerthanMountEverestandroughly
thesameheightintheatmospherewherecommercialairplanesfly.With4,205meters(13,796feet,2.6miles)
abovesealevel,morethanhalfofMaunaKea’sheightfallsbelowthesurfaceoftheocean,withitsbasereaching
5,761meters(18,900feet,3.6miles)deep.MaunaKeaisdormant,havinglasterupted4,600yearsago.Kohalais
theisland’soldestvolcanoandisnowextinct.Hualalailasteruptedin1801,andMaunaLoalasteruptedin1984.
Kilaueahasbeeneruptingactivelysince1983.
ThegeologiclandscapeofHawaii’sislandshaschangedgreatlyovertime,whichhasalsoimpacteditsecologic
landscape.AsHawaii’svolcanicislandsriseandfall,organismsmustadapttoaseriesoftransitionalhabitatsboth
aboveandbelowtheoceansurface.IntermsofthehabitatsandspeciesthatarepartofMaunaKea—fromits
mountainpeaktoitsoceandeep—thecolossalmountainisnotonlytall,buthighinbiodiversityaswell.Mauna
Kea’svarietyofterrestrialhabitatsincludesstonedeserts,shrublands,alpinewoodlands,andtropicalforests.
ThesevariedhabitatsarehometoseveralendemicspeciesthatareonlyfoundonHawaiiortheHawaiian
archipelago.TheoceanhabitatsthatcharacterizeMaunaKeaareequallyvariedandfulloflife.Thegreatest
quantityofmarinelifeisfoundbetweenthesurfaceandadepthof1,189meters(3,900feet,0.7miles)inthe
sunlightzoneandtwilightrealm.Below3,900feetarethemidnightzoneandabyss,whicharedark,cold,under
highpressures,andlackinginfood.Speciesintheseextremeenvironmentshavedevelopeduniqueadaptationsto
regulatetheirtemperatures,protectthemselves,helpthemlocatefood,communicate,andfindmates.
FASTFACTS
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TwentymilessoutheastofHawaiiistheLoihiseamount,anactiveunderwatervolcanothatispredictedtoriseabovethe
oceansurfaceinthenext50,000years.ThatmeansitcouldbecometheninthmainHawaiianisland.
DuetoitsremotelocationinthePacific,MaunaKeaisfreefromtheartificiallightthatiscommoninhighlypopulated
areas.Combinedwithitselevationof4,205meters(13,796feet,2.6miles),thesummitofMaunaKeaistheideallocation
fortheinternationalastronomicalobservatoryandthe13internationaltelescopeslocatedthere.
UnlikethehotspotthatformedMaunaKea,MountEverestformedastheresultofaconvergenttectonicboundary.As
twocontinentalplatescametogether,thecrustbuckledandpushedupward,creatingtheHimalayanmountainrange.As
theIndianandEurasianplatescontinuetocollide,theelevationofMountEverestincreasesby1-3centimeterseach
year.
VOCABULARY
Term
PartofSpeech
Definition
adaptation
noun
amodificationofanorganismoritspartsthatmakesitmorefitforexistence.An
adaptationispassedfromgenerationtogeneration.
archipelago
noun
agroupofcloselyscatteredislandsinalargebodyofwater.
atoll
noun
acoralreeforstringofcoralislandsthatsurroundsalagoon.
biodiversity
noun
allthedifferentkindsoflivingorganismswithinagivenarea.
endemic
adjective
nativetoaspecificgeographicspace.
geology
noun
studyofthephysicalhistoryoftheEarth,itscomposition,itsstructure,andthe
processesthatformandchangeit.
habitat
noun
environmentwhereanorganismlivesthroughouttheyearorforshorterperiodsof
time.
hotspot
noun
intenselyhotregiondeepwithintheEarththatrisestojustunderneaththesurface.
Somehotspotsproducevolcanoes.
oceanography
noun
studyoftheocean.
plate
tectonics
noun
movementandinteractionoftheEarth'splates.
seamount
noun
underwatermountain.
volcano
noun
anopeningintheEarth'scrust,throughwhichlava,ash,andgaseserupt,andalso
theconebuiltbyeruptions.
ForFurtherExploration
InstructionalContent
NationalGeographic:DeepSeaEcosystems—ExtremeLiving
NationalGeographic:UnderseaGeology
NationalGeographic:TypesofVolcanicEruptions
Video
NationalGeographic:AlienDeepGeology—ExploringHawaii’sUnderwaterHotspots
Websites
NationalGeographicChannel:AlienDeep
NOAA:EducationResources—OceanandCoasts:OceanFloorFeatures
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Funder
ThismaterialisbasedinpartuponworksupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundationunderGrant
No.DRL-1114251.Anyopinions,findings,andconclusionsorrecommendationsexpressedinthis
materialarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheNationalScience
Foundation.
©1996–2015NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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