The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is of course located in Hawaii. Every year 1.17 million visitors come here to experience the national park founded on August 1, 1916. On an area of 1,309 km² it not only offers a lot of space, but also breathtaking insights into the heart of nature. See a2zdirectory for tourist attractions in Hawaii.
The inhabitants of the Hawaii Island call their home the Big Island. It is not only the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, but also the youngest and southernmost.
Creation of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Island
The island began to form an estimated three million years ago. It consists of two monstrously large shield volcanoes. These originated at a depth of 5,000 meters and grew through numerous lava flows. Today the Mauna Loa reaches 4,169 meters above sea level, the Mauna Kea is even 4,205 meters above sea level. Both of them, which are over 9000 meters high from their foot in the sea, are among the largest mountain formations and most active volcanoes in the world.
Settlement by humans
Around the year 750 AD the first settlers came to the archipelago. These probably came from the Polynesian Islands. The fire goddess Pele lived for these residents in the Halemaumau crater, for whom they built several temples in order to properly worship her.
The residents of that time were subjugated by their own former compatriots. In the 13th century, the next Polynesians arrived on the island, defeated the residents there and built their own temples. Today you can visit the remains of one of the newer temples. This temple was built in 1275 and was in permanent use until 1819. The first Europeans came to the island in 1778. The English captain James Cook brought them here. In 1824 the ruler of the islands decided to join Christianity. Many of her subjects did the same.
Due to the rapidly growing European settlements, some of the Polynesian immigrants left their fishing villages and wanted to share in the wealth of the Europeans. In 1868 a severe earthquake occurred that resulted in a tsunami. As a result, the other villagers had to leave their home villages and move on. It was not until 1855 that foreigners were allowed to own land under the current law. The island was being sold piece by piece as if on a rummaging table. This sale went very quickly and did not stop at the holy temples and the Halemaumau crater.
As early as 1900 the island was divided into various private properties. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, founded in 1916, consisted of a very small part of what is now the park.
Animals and plants in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
With the arrival of Europeans in what is now the park area, the death sentence for many animal species was sealed. More than 25 different bird species have died out or fell victim to hunters. Especially the development of birds to ground breeders was their undoing. The Europeans brought their own animals to the island. These fed on meat, among other things, and found an easy catch in the flightless ground-breeders.
98 percent of the plants found on the archipelago have evolved on the island. Many of them are only found here (endemic). The raw manure contributed to a change in nature. So people exterminated many types of plants and trees.
