Hawaii Political Map

Below, Hawaii island (NASA, November 1985) the archipelago’s youngest and largest island. Apparent are the three main volcanoes that have created the big island - Mauna Loa (4169 meters), the easiest to recognize with its rift zone and dark, riblike basalt lava flows that radiate outward from the higher elevations, brownish-looking Mauna Kea, slightly taller at 4205 meters, but lacking the dramatic appearance of Mauna Loa; and Kilauea near the south-eastern coast. The multiple craters of Kilauea (1243 meters) are not easily discernible in this photograph. Kilauea and Mauna Loa continue to be two of the world’s most active shield volcanoes as they periodically add new acreage to the big island.