Because it is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It's lava is very runny so it has some very picturesque eruptions.
2006-12-18 12:28:42
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answer #1
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answered by cajunrescuemedic 6
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Kīlauea is an active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five shield volcanoes that together form the Island of Hawaiʻi. In Hawaiian, the word kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading", in reference to the mountain's frequent outpouring of lava. It is presently the most active volcano and one of the most visited active volcanoes on the planet. Kīlauea is just the most recent of a long series of volcanoes that created the Hawaiian Archipelago, as the Pacific Plate moves over a more or less fixed hotspot in the Earth's mantle (see, however, Lōʻihi).
Description
Kīlauea's absolute location is 19.452 North, 155.292 West. It lies against the southeast flank of much larger Mauna Loa volcano. Mauna Loa's massive size and elevation (13,677 feet or 4,169 m) is a stark contrast to Kīlauea, which rises only 4,091 feet (1,247 m) above sea level, and thus from the summit caldera appears as a broad shelf of uplands well beneath the long profile of occasionally snow-capped Mauna Loa, 15 miles (24 km) distant.
First-time visitors to Kīlauea, not familiar with how different the profile of a shield volcano can be compared with stratovolcanoes like Mt. Fuji, Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens, are usually unaware they are approaching the summit of an active volcano as they make the drive up through the cloud forest on State Rte. 11 to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park from Hilo—or coming from Kailua-Kona via South Point across the Kaʻū Desert. From Hilo, the highway heads south to Keaʻau, then turns abruptly westward to begin the climb to the Kīlauea caldera. For some 20 miles (32 km) the road runs relatively straight, making a 4,000 ft (1,200 m) ascent. However, most of this climb is actually on the heavily vegetated flank of Mauna Loa; the crossing onto lava flows issued from Kīlauea is about 1 mile west of Glenwood, 18 miles (29 km) from Hilo. The Mauna Loa flows are several thousand years old; the lightly vegetated Kīlauea flows are only 350 to 500 years old.
Driving from the Kona Coast, the immense size of the Big Island becomes apparent: from Kailua-Kona it is 98 miles (158 km) on the Māmalahoa Highway (State Rte. 11) to Kīlauea. After passing around the southern end of Mauna Loa, the highway turns northeastward towards Kīlauea once past the town of Nāʻālehu. Yet, as from the Hilo side, the long climb from near sea level to the summit is all on the flank of Mauna Loa. Not until the Sulfur Bank scarp (the northwestern edge of Kīlauea Caldera), near the intersection of Crater Rim Drive in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, does the road cross over onto Kīlauea. However, the highway parallels the line of contact between the two volcanoes—always less than 1 mile to the southeast—from the vicinity of Punaluʻu at the coast to the caldera at the summit.
You could get more information from the link below...
2006-12-18 20:38:07
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answer #2
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answered by catzpaw 6
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