Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is a dormant shield volcano on Hawaiʻi island whose summit is the highest point in the Hawaiian Islands. Its high, dry summit hosts major astronomical observatories.

W. M. Keck Observatory: An astronomical observatory on Mauna Kea with two 10-meter optical and infrared telescopes. Its twin telescopes are among the largest instruments operating on the summit.
Hawaiian volcanoes: Volcanoes formed as the Pacific Plate moves over the Hawaiian hotspot. Mauna Kea is one of the hotspot-built volcanoes that make up the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain: A trail of volcanic islands and underwater mountains formed as the Pacific Plate passed over a hotspot. Mauna Kea is one link in this much longer volcanic chain.
Kūkahauʻula: The summit region of Mauna Kea, associated in Hawaiian tradition with the deity Kū. Its sacred associations shape opposition to development at the mountain’s summit.
Subaru Telescope: A 8.2-meter optical and infrared telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. It uses Mauna Kea’s high-altitude conditions to observe faint and distant objects.
Shield volcano: A broad volcano built mainly by repeated flows of fluid lava. Mauna Kea’s wide profile and lava-built slopes are characteristic of shield volcanoes.
Pacific Plate: The largest tectonic plate, carrying much of the Pacific Ocean basin. Its motion carried Mauna Kea away from the hotspot that formed it.
Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement: A movement seeking greater self-determination and recognition of Native Hawaiian rights and political status. Mauna Kea activism often connects observatory disputes to sovereignty and land stewardship.
Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope: A 3.6-meter optical and infrared telescope on Mauna Kea, jointly operated by Canadian, French, and Hawaiian institutions. It is one of the observatories that established the summit as a global astronomy site.
Hawaiian hotspot: A persistent source of mantle melting beneath the Pacific Plate that produces the Hawaiian volcanic chain. Its eruptions built Mauna Kea as the Pacific Plate moved northwest.

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