Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Waterfall Tour Come join Discover Hidden Hawaii Tours and witness one of the most spectacular natural phenomenons of your life—an active volcano. Journey to The Big Island and enter the magical world of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where mount Kilauea sends lava flowing into the ocean. Explore the World’s Most Active Volcano Established in 1916, the Volcanoes National Park is home of the hyperactive Kilauea and the 13,700 feet high Mauna Loa ("Long Mountain"), the world's largest volcano, which makes up about half of the island's bulk. Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984, sending lava to within just four miles of Hilo, the Big Island's largest city! Our Big Island volcano and waterfall tour is the best way to witness all the magnificent sights on the Big Island of Hawaii. http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/ Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:49:05 -1000 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:07:52 -1000 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com Your deluxe volcano adventure will commence the moment you step on board our deluxe SUV vehicle and embark on an exciting excursion to the picturesque region of Puna, located on the Big Island of Hawaii’s southeast coast. Since 1983 when Kilauea Volcano first erupted, this area has seen the most dramatic and spectacular events of nature, causing the landscape to be forever changed. http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/hawaiivolcanotour34a.php DAF935DC-A88A-4FB9-8580-43EDE2741F61 Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:47:15 -1000 Your deluxe volcano adventure will commence the moment you step on board our deluxe SUV vehicle and embark on an exciting excursion to the picturesque region of Puna, located on the Big Island of Hawaii’s southeast coast. Since 1983 when Kilauea Volcano first erupted, this area has seen the most dramatic and spectacular events of nature, causing the landscape to be forever changed. http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/hawaiivolcanotour34w.php B24C3F16-B75E-4C0A-8C65-3ECD2BD96096 Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:47:14 -1000 A number of factors recommended Hawai‘i for specific research. Its volcanoes are eminently accessible. They are frequently active. And they are not so explosive that studying them puts scientists in physical danger. Many professional and lay volcanologists visited and studied the Hawaiian mountains throughout the 1800s, and detailed surveys were performed as early as the 1870s under the Hawaiian monarchy. But it wasn’t until 1911 that the first permanent observatory was built. In that year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist Thomas Jagger and volcanologist Frank Perret established themselves at the rim of Halema‘uma‘u. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory was founded the next year with funding from both MIT and Hawai‘i business officials. The work often involved active inventing, since equipment and techniques were required that no one ha ever before envisioned. http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/study.php 6AC15F82-A0E4-47C7-925D-60FFCC7914D8 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:21 -1000 A HOT SPOT is an area where superheated rock moves from deep within the Earth’s mantle upward toward the center crust. And while the Pacific Plate moves, the Hawaiian Hot Spot remains fixed in relation to the planet as a whole. Some scientists believe the plate “floats” on a bed of magma that is forced up from deeper in the Earth, and is pushed out laterally in all directions beneath the crust. The Pacific Plate is believed to be moving slowly but steadily at the rate of about three inches a year. When a thermal plume forms a hot spot, magma pushes through the crust to erupt. Initially, as with the Hawaiian hot spot, much of that magma erupted under water millions of years ago. Yet that same process is going on now with the undersea volcano, Lo‘ihi, about 20 miles off the east coast of the Island of Hawai‘i. Geologists theorize that the upwelling of magma finds its way to the surface through cracks that become permanent supply routes, feeding underground magma storage chambers beneath the summits of various volcanoes. There is a huge amount of magma available, and it is capable of supporting several active eruptions. Lo‘ihi, Kilauea and Mauna Loa are all being fed by the same Hawaiian hot spot. Sometimes, two of these erupt simultaneously. http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/archipelago.php 426673CA-C07C-477B-AFC6-B481DE4E89DF Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:20 -1000 Long ago Hawai‘i’s chiefs pronounced the Polynesian gods defeated and replaced them with the Christian God, but many ancient traditions live on. And occasionally, the placid Hawaiian volcanoes remind residents of the tempers of the old gods. Sometimes earthquakes rip open great chasms in the ground where roads used to be. Eruptions build new mountains while lava flows destroy whole villages. But even these violent events leave just the tiniest impressions on the broader picture of Hawai‘i’s geology. The last few million years of the islands have seen a constant exchange between biology and geology. Vegetation takes hold almost as soon as the lava cools; although often another flow roars down to retake the same terrain. Scientists find charcoal between old lava flows, and the molds of trees surrounded and burned millennia ago. The history of these islands which goes back 75 million years or more spans most of the width of the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the story of how our planet works. http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/gods.php A73AD344-7BD9-427D-A490-1914FCF700E5 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:19 -1000 Evidently one visit made such an impression on the missionary Hiram Bingham that this devout man gave some leeway to a pagan goddess. He wrote of approaching Kilauea in 1830: “Evidences of existing volcanic agency multiplied around us; steam, gas and smoke, issued from sulfur banks on the north-east and south-east sides of the crater, and here and there from deep and extended fissures connected with fiery subterranean agency; and as we passed circumspectly along the apparently depressed plain that surrounds the crater, we observed an immense volume of smoke and vapor ascending from the midst of it. At the same time, and from the same source, various unusual sounds not easily described or explained, fell with increasing intensity on the ear. Then the angry abyss, the fabled habitation and throne of Pele, the great ex-goddess of the Hawaiians, opened before us.” http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/viewthevolcanoes.php BE27C47F-F834-4AE9-9CEA-A0B903D4C45F Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:18 -1000 HAWAI‘I’S VOLCANOES ARE known for their placid natures, as volcanoes go. They seldom explode or send hot ash-flows down mountainsides. Kilauea is sometimes called the world’s only “drive-in” volcano. Good roads lead to the very edge and down inside its caldera, the broad basin formed by the collapse of the volcano’s cone. Trails twist along its steaming vents. http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/destruction.php 5FB44D5B-9BED-4740-8441-C176B248AAE7 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:17 -1000 WE TEND TO think of the atmosphere and oceans as fluids in constant motion, and of the Earth as a solid. But study of the earth has shown the structure of our planet is anything but static. It is a constantly moving system. Rocks roll and land slides on the surface and great plates that form the planet’s crust shift, causing earthquakes and tsunami. The mantle of the Earth sags under the weight of the highest mountains, and recovers as those mountains erode away. Solid rock melts, its lighter elements rise and heavier ones sink. The fluid material of lava moves in currents deep under the Earth, and if it can find a way to the surface, the planet erupts. http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/hotspots.php CC0AA4BA-9CFE-45F4-981D-E404D56B75F3 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:48:16 -1000 Featuring the official Arizona Memorial Navy Tour and the USS Missouri Battleship http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/recommended.php 623344F8-8B19-483E-913C-1083DD65C285 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:41 -1000 Explore the Island of Oahu and Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial National Park all in one day. http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/oahutour7h.php 8DDE8499-7492-40D4-BA39-816AE5714F64 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:40 -1000 Join us for an unforgettable day as you visit the most popular sights of Hawaii. Remember Pearl Harbor, view the powerful historical film and visit the Arizona Memorial. Have a taste of the plantation days at the Dole Pineapple pavilion. The adventure continues with a trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center, for a ride on a double-hulled canoe through the villages of the South Seas at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Enjoy a hosted buffet lunch and expert narration throughout your visit. http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/oahutour11h.php A967441A-A5D9-4462-946E-7E4E9AF2E933 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:39 -1000 Get as close to the active lava flows as Civil Defense allows on this incredible volcano and waterfall experience http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/hawaiivolcanotour32w.php 339D20B4-1180-40D0-B8A9-1C4A77434E6C Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:38 -1000 Featuring the closest views of active lava flows and lush waterfalls http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/hawaiivolcanotour32m.php 79290EAE-ADD7-460D-8C97-6A1931B1D55E Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:37 -1000 Prepare to experience breathtaking vistas and natural phenomenons. After getting settled into the air-conditioned deluxe mini coaches, the experienced volcano tour guides will begin by providing interesting facts and volcanic history of Hawaii while you travel the short distance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The park is home to the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea. Chances are if you have ever seen an erupting volcano in the news or movies it is footage of Kilauea. http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/hawaiivolcanotour32a.php DA3DD69C-7A84-413B-9C9B-282701321D04 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:36 -1000 Select your Hawaii volcano tour http://bigislandvolcanotours.com/tours.php D57F4F5E-DC80-4E61-8DAE-AC9083D62BBD Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:35 -1000