Many of these processes and features can also be found at other basaltic volcanoes on Earth. Additionally, Kilauea and Mauna Loa and have also become the primary volcanoes used by planetary geologists as analogs for volcanoes on Mars and Venus. This review presents ideas derived by many volcanologists over the last few decades, the most prominent of whom are George Walker, Dave Clague, Jim Moore, and the late Gordon Macdonald. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the University of Hawai'i, and elsewhere have made further important contributions to the study of Hawaiian volcanism, and their willingness to share their knowledge is gratefully acknowledged. Hypertext references link to a bibliography that provides just a taste of the extensive literature available to those interested in studying Hawaiian volcanoes.
Hawaiian volcanoes are by far the best-studied examples of basalt shields.
This means we have really only studied a small sample of a small percentage of Earth volcanoes. This review starts with large-scale structures and works to smaller and smaller features. Keep in mind how they all fit together to form a complex volcano. Kilauea is a relatively small bump on the flank of Mauna Loa with a volume of 19,400 cubic kilometers. In the other direction, Olympus Mons on Mars rises 24 km above its base and has a volume of almost 4,000,000 cubic kilometers.