moanakane

Hi

I was just watching an episode of National Geographic on Tsunamis. It
showed a 60 mile fault line on the Big Island where a gap was
appearing. They were speculating that, at some point, there may be a
massive slip of land on one side of this fault line into the ocean,
generating a big tsunami. However, they didn't show where the fault
line was. Does anyone know where it is?

A hui hou

Peter Forster
Friesland, The Netherlands

howard bennett

That would be "The Big Crack" which is in the fault zone on the southern
flank of Mauna Kea, makai the highway (it's shown on the University of
Hawaii map of the Big Island, I believe). Dunno if it's a fault line like
the San Andreas in California, more of a place where one great big piece of
the Big Island is splitting away from the rest. Theory is that when it
falls into the sea, it'll cause a huge tsunami, as has happened many times
before in Hawaii. Seems the islands don't so much erode away as drop off in
chunks. That's how the Molokai sea cliffs were formed, for instance.

gerard fryer

On 2005-03-19 13:35:14 -1000, "moanakane" <Peter.M.Forster@gmail.com>
said:


The story is the result of muddled thinking. It first erupted (pun
intended) in 1997. For reasons I can no longer remember, I was posting
HVO's Volcano Watch newsletters on the web then (that was long before
HVO had their own web site). Since my e-mail address was on the home
page I suddenly started getting scads of communications. In response, I

About a uear later HVO follwed up with their own piece:
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1998/98_07_16.html

As far as we can tell. Kilauea has *never* suffered a catastrophic
failure. In all probability, it will continue slowly to subside, with
the occasional great earthquake like we had in 1975. The fault surface
for that earthquake is essentially the entire underside of Kilauea
volcano, where it sits on the underlying sea floor.

BTW, while it doesn't look like Kilauea will suffer a catastrophic
landslide anytime in the next few millennia, we can't be so sure about
Mauna Loa.

--
Gerard Fryer
Hawaii Inst. of Geophysics & Planetology

moanakane

Thank you for these replies gentlemen - very helpful. And the articles
were very interesting.

Marijke and I are keen to visit the fault line the next time we are on
the Big Island. It sounds fascinating. Especially the bit in the
article which was about the two sides of the fault fitting together
like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in those places where they are close
together.

Peter Forster
Friesland, The Netherlands

pakehaole

Now that's a scary thought; much larger mass, isn't it, than Kilauea?

pakehaole

smithfarms pure kona

I hiked from Footprints to Pahala years ago and was able to really
look at parts of the Great Crack, the Ka'u Crack. In some areas it is
far apart and in others close enough to see the jagged lines that
could join.
aloha, Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

moanakane

Maika'i! I know Pahala, but not Footprints. Where is that in relation
to Pahala?

Best wishes

Peter

smithfarms pure kona

Footprints Trail is in the Volcano Park. As you head from Pahala to
the Volcano, it is on the right side in the Park. There is a pull-off
with an emergency phone. You then walk in to see the footprints that
are covered over with a roof and keep heading towards the ocean.

It was a 2 day hike, my husband wants me to say. There were cabins
the first day and sorry I don't remember their name. Look up Volcano
National Park and it is nearly on the western/southern end. Sorry my
directions are vague. I am trying to recreate the scene in my mind
early in the morning here before going running.

aloha
Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

smithfarms pure kona

You know my bottom line is, call the Volcano National Park. You
will get great results and I bet that is where you rent the cabin
from. That was a really nice place to stay.

Have fun.

with aloha,
Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

moanakane

Ah ha! Found it! Thank you very much for this. I got hold of the
excellent 'Atlas of Hawai'i' (published by UH Press) and found it
marked on the map of the Puna and Ka'u areas. There is also a very nice
little map on page 43 of the 3rd edition, which shows all the rift
zones. It looks like I've got a new hobby...

Best wishes

Peter Forster
Friesland, The Netherlands