We live on a volcano. Well, about 50 of them.
The city of Auckland was built on a volcanic field, with 48 dormant volcanoes still visible on the landscape. Their green hills rise and fall like squat mountains on the horizon. Each has a unique shape, height and prominent features. From my kitchen window, I can see the obelisk atop One Tree Hill, the gentle slope of Mount Albert and, my favorite, Mount Eden, the big brother of them all.
Auckland's is a monogenetic volcanic field, meaning each volcano -- with the exception of one -- erupted only once, many, many years ago. That exception was Rangitoto, the symmetrical lava island that sits off the mainland in our harbour. A series of eruptions created Rangitoto, the most recent occurring about 600 years ago, well after the Maori people made this land their home.
I tell the Adorable Boy that our volcanoes are extinct. They're never coming back to life, I say, much like the dinosaurs he longs to tame. That little white lie is the only way I can get him to join me on hikes up these beautiful mounds. Because the truth is, our volcanoes -- the ones our city is built on -- are not dead; they're inactive, dormant. Asleep. Gentle giants that could potentially roar to life again.
Eek!
Does that scenario sound familiar to anyone out there??
Of course it does. It sounds like what's happening on Hawaii's Big Island right this moment. From today's USA TODAY: "A fast-moving lava flow appears to have destroyed at least 12 more homes on Hawaii’s Big Island as lava fountains blast more than 200 feet into the air, authorities said."
The awakening of Kilauea in Hawaii has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. About 100 structures, including many homes, have been destroyed. Schools and roads have closed. Residents and tourists have had to deal with potentially deadly gases, volcanic fog and dangerous falling ash. Lives have been disrupted, and my heart hurts for those who have lost everything to Mother Nature. (She always seems to get her way, doesn't she?)
I've been watching these events unfold with a bit of anxious wonder. As I said before, I can see several volcanoes out my window. I'm looking at them right now. I hike up these mountains nearly every week. I love them. They're beautiful and amazing and an awesome reminder of nature's magnificence.
But what happened in Hawaii? Well, that could happen here.
Say the experts: "A Hawaii eruption that has destroyed homes and spewed lava into the air is an "eerie analogue" of what could happen in Auckland, scientists say."
Did you catch that? Eerie analogue?? (Forgive the British spelling ;)
"Although the long-dormant Auckland Volcanic Field (AVF), doesn't have active shield volcanoes like Hawaii's Kīlauea, the city could still get an eruption that generates lava fountaining and lava flows from fissures."
Scientists go on to explain that the type of magma erupting in Hawaii is the same type of magma that erupts from Auckland's volcanoes. So the natural phenomena being seen on the Big Island -- "earthquakes, ground deformation, large amounts of gases, ground cracking and magma flowing underground" -- could be expected with an eruption here.
Yikes!
I'm not ready to explain that to the Adorable Boy yet.
In my understanding -- my very limited understanding -- of the geological wonder that is Auckland, that type of doomsday scenario is far from likely. I truly don't think we will experience a volcanic eruption here, and I think the experts would mostly agree with that.
But I can see why someone would choose to live on a volcano. Why Maori tribes set up pās -- or villages -- on Auckland's volcanic cones. Why residents of the now world-renowned Leilani Estates chose such a dangerous spot to call home.
Frankly, volcanoes are beautiful. They're majestic. They're amazing. They're a daily reminder that we're not actually in charge here.
As one Leilani Estates resident told Time magazine, “This island is so crazy. You have death around every corner. You have flash floods, tsunamis. Now we have lava. But I love it. I wouldn’t change it for the world. Hawaii is a community. People are just happy out here.”
I can understand that feeling, truly. I'll take my sleeping giants over the lava flows Hawaii's dealing with, but I do love living on a volcano, living on many volcanoes. Something about it makes me feel more alive, more connected to history, to peoples of the past. Makes me feel more ...human.
Nature is an incredible beast, and I think it's good to be reminded of our place in her order every now and then. If Auckland's giants start yawning, trust I'll be on the first flight out of here. But for now, I'm more than happy -- and grateful -- to share their home.
