The arrival of humans, first Polynesians, then Europeans, and the plants and animals that they brought with them drastically altered this evolutionary showcase, this grand experiment. Today Hawaii Volcanoes National Park displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution - processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct human culture. Created to preserve the natural setting of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, the park is also a refuge for the island's native plants and animals and a link to its human past. Park managers work to protect the resources and promote understanding and appreciation of the park by visitors. Research by scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has made Kilauea one of the best understood volcanoes in the world, shedding light on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and the beginning of planet Earth.
Volcanoes attest to the dynamic nature of the earth.
Divided into rigid plates, the outermost layer of the earth drifts slowly over the more plastic mantle beneath. The series of volcanoes that include Washington's Mount Saint Helens, Alaska's Katmai, Japan's Mount Fuji, and the Philippines' Mount Pinatubo define the margins of the Pacific plate. This fluid charged with gas, melts and pushes its way to the surface, erupting on the ocean floor to create a seamount. After several hundred thousand years and countless eruptions, the volcano rises above sea level to form an island. The volcano continues to grow until movement of the Pacific plate carries the island off the hot spot.