Blog Entry #1

“Jeju Island is Hallasan Mountain and Hallasan Mountain is Jeju Island”

Hallasan Mountain is the tallest mountain in South Korea standing tall at 1,950 meters (6,397 inches). The mountain takes up most of the Island, so therefore locals think Hallasan and Jeju to be one of the same; as the title of the post suggests. “Jeju Island is Hallasan Mountain and Hallasan Mountain is Jeju Island,” is a common saying amongst the people that habit-ate on its magnificent landscape.  

Map of South Korea
Hallasan Latitude: 33.3630556
Hallasan Longitude: 126.529722

The Mountain itself is a large shield volcano that has been dormant for many years. The mountain last erupted in 1002 and 1007 on the flank/side of the mountain which formed approximately 360 parasitic cones (cone shaped build up of volcanic material).

Hallasan Mountain

It came to be during the Cenozoic era, the last of the three geologic eras. It is the result of a series of eruptions from another volcano; basalt and trachyte lava allowed the island to build itself above sea level on the continental shelf. Basalt volcanic forms are categorized as mafic - shield volcanoes are one of the least explosive. It’s low viscosity would allow ample time for locals to escape the eruption. The viscosity of the volcano refers to the fluid flow. A shield volcano lets out pressure causing gas before erupting. 

Baengnokdam 

Lastly, the mountain has a volcanic crater that was also formed from an eruption. The crater holds a lake called Baengnokdam, which translates as “white deer lake.” Two kilometers in circumference and 100 meters deep is the largest the lake has ever gotten; the size of the lake fluctuates due to rainfall. 

More to come on Jeju Island and Hallasan in future blogs! 

Images taken from:

http://www.jitourism.com

http://www.thejakartapost.com

http://www.asiaclassictours.com/koreavacation

Information taken from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallasan

http://san-shin.org/Jejudo-02.html

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Battle/Build/VolcanicEx/Extrusive.html