Posted on 12/19/2005 1:03:16 PM PST by cogitator
I posted this as the Geology Picture of the Week, but I felt that it's "newsworthy" enough for the Activism side.
Geology Picture of the Week, December 18-24, 2005: Augustine Volcano Erupts (Alaska)
It's such a pain when that ash blows over populated areas--like Anchorage.
ah...if only this were our Hualalai Volcano here....
Based on what a talk by a Park Ranger indicated when I visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (years ago), they had determined that when Hualalai erupts, it puts out very large volumes of lava rapidly. And he added that based on new dating of recent lava flows, they had changed the status of Hualalai from "extinct" to "dormant" -- meaning that they weren't ruling out the possibility of another eruption. Obviously Mauna Loa and Kilauea (the latter having been in constant eruption now for over 20 years) are the ones to watch, but Hualalai might comply with your request. The ranger said "People walk to Kilauea; they walk away from Mauna Loa; you'd have to run from Hualalai".
you'd have to run from Hualalai".
I can't wait ! ;^)
How do you really know if a volcano is extinct? I was reading about the island of Madeira recently and thought if I lived on a so called extinct volcano, I'd make sure I had an exit strategy
Heh-heh. I think there's a spectrum of knowledge regarding a volcano's potential activity:
For some, it's a certainty they won't erupt again;
for others, there's a high likelihood they won't erupt again;
another class probably won't erupt again, but still...;
for the next group, keep checking with the geologists;
after that, I'd just rent a property.
This is what happens when the lava gets past the front door. 
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