Diamond
Head is part of the complex of cones, vents, and their associated
eruption flows that are collectively known to geologists as
the Honolulu Volcanic Series, eruptions from the Ko?olau Volcano
that took place long after the volcano formed and had gone
dormant. The Honolulu Volcanic Series is a series of volcanic
eruption events that created many of O?ahu's well-known landmarks,
including Punchbowl Crater, Hanauma Bay, Koko Head, and Manana
Island in addition to Diamond Head.
Diamond
Head, like the rest of the Honolulu Volcanics, is much younger
than the main mass of the Ko?olau Mountain Range. While the
Ko?olau Range is about 2.6 million years old, Diamond Head
is estimated to be about 200,000 years old and extinct for
150,000 years.
The eruption
that built up Diamond Head was probably very brief, lasting
no more than a few days. It was probably explosive, since
when the cone was originally formed, the sea level is thought
to have been higher and the vent burst erupted over a coral
reef. Another factor probably contributing to the eruption's
explosive nature was that rising magma would have come into
contact with the water table. The eruption's relatively brief
length is thought to explain why the cone today is so symmetrical.
A nearby eruption that took place at
about the same time (probably after) as the Diamond Head eruption
was the eruption that built the Black Point lava shield. Since
the type of eruptions that built Diamond Head tend to be monogenetic,
geologists don't believe Diamond Head will erupt again.
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