8/1/2016

RiftzoneWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Riftzone
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Ariftzoneisafeatureofsomevolcanoes,especiallyshieldvolcanoes,inwhichalinearseriesoffissuresin
thevolcanicedificeallowslavatobeeruptedfromthevolcano'sflankinsteadoffromitssummit.For
example,inthecurrentlyongoingeruptionofKilaueainHawaii,lavaisemittedcontinuouslyfromthePuu
ventlocatedinKilauea'sEastRiftZoneroughly15kmeastofKilaueaCrater.Riftzonestendtoextend
fortensofkilometersradiallyoutwardfromthevolcanicsummit.Theaccumulatedlavaofrepeatederuptions
fromriftzonescausesthesevolcanoestohaveanelongatedshape.PerhapsthebestexampleofthisisMauna
Loa,whichinHawaiianmeans"longmountain".

Contents
1
2
3
4
5

StructuralOrigins
Examples
Seealso
References
Externallinks

StructuralOrigins
Theoriginofthefracturesthatcomprisetheriftzonesisthespreadingofthevolcano.[1]Themoremateriala
shieldvolcanoaccumulates,theheavieritgets,anditbeginstosettleduetogravity.Thesurfacespreadsand
ruptures.

EastRiftZoneonKilauea

ThereasonlavaofteneruptsfromtheflanksofHawaiianvolcanoesisgravity:itiseasierforliquidlava,which
isheavy,toflowlaterallyoutthesidesofamountainthantobepushedupanadditionalseveralhundredorseveralthousandmetersinelevationtobeeruptedfrom
thesummit.Thesesystemsoffissuresthatmakeupariftzoneallowthistohappenmoreeasily.

Examples
Hawaii:MostHawaiianvolcanoeshavetwoorsometimesthreeriftzones.
Mhukona
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_zone

1/2

8/1/2016

RiftzoneWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

MaunaLoa
Hualalai
Kilauea
GalapagosIslands
CanaryIslands
LaPalma
ElHierro
NewberryVolcano,Oregon

Seealso
Fracture(geology)
Lateraleruption

References
1.Hazlett,R.W.andHyndman,D.W.RoadsideGeologyofHawaii,1996

Externallinks
USGSriftzonepage(http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/images/pglossary/RiftZone.php)

Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rift_zone&oldid=703958811"
Categories: Volcanology VolcanismofHawaii Volcanologystubs
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon8February2016,at18:03.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUse
andPrivacyPolicy.WikipediaisaregisteredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_zone

2/2