Penguin Bank is the name given to a now-submerged shield volcano of the Hawaiian Islands. Its coral-capped remains lie immediately west of the island of Molokaʻi, under relatively shallow water (see bathymetric map at the right).

Geology

The Penguin Bank volcano is part of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. It was one of the seven principal Cenozoic Era volcanoes that formerly constituted the prehistoric island of Maui Nui, along with West Molokaʻi, East Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, West Maui, East Maui, and Kahoʻolawe. The date of the last eruption is unknown.

It appears a landslide occurred around the southeastern part of the volcano, near the Lanai area. A possible time frame for this supposed collapse would be roughly between 300,000 to around 700,000 years ago. There is no determined evidence for a collapse as it's unclear if the supposed landslide debris field near the large gap seen from satellite view is actually from Penguin Bank or not. The cause is likely from erosion when the volcano was still above the surface.

Boundary area

Penguin Bank is about 20 miles (32 km) long and 10 miles (16 km) wide and less than 200 feet (61 m) deep.[1] The site coordinates are: NW (21°03′N 157°42′W); NE (21°12′N 157°24′W); SW (20°54′N 157°36′W); and SE (21°03′N 157°21′W).[2]

Conservation

Plans to build wind turbines on Penguin Bank were called off in April 2009, because the site is located in the heart of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, requiring a lease from the then-active Minerals Management Service (MMS). However, the MMS would not issue leases within marine sanctuaries, effectively killing the project.[3]

References

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