What Is Mauna Loa?
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano in both mass and volume, Mauna Loa has historically been considered the largest volcano on Earth, dwarfed only by Tamu Massif. It is an active shield volcano with relatively gentle slopes, with a volume estimated at 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km3), although its peak is about 125 feet (38 m) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea.
What Is Mauna Loa Famous For?
Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on the planet. Meaning “long mountain” in Hawaiian, it is the quintessential shield volcano in its shape— signified by broad, rounded slopes. The volcano makes up roughly 51% of Hawaiʻi Island and stands 13,681 feet (4,170 m) above sea level.
Where Is Mauna Loa?
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
Why Is the Volcano Called Mauna Loa?
The Hawaiian name “Mauna Loa” means “Long Mountain.” This name is fitting, because the subaerial (above sea level) part of the volcano extends about 120 km (75 mi) from the southern tip of the Island of Hawai’i across the volcano’s summit to the eastern coastline near Hilo.
Is Mauna Loa the Largest Volcano in the World?
The world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, is erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years, sparking an ashfall advisory Monday for Hawaii’s Big Island and surrounding waters until 10 a.m.
Do People Live on Mauna Loa?
Mauna Loa on the Island Hawaiʻi is the world’s largest volcano. People residing on its flanks face many hazards that come with living on or near an active volcano, including lava flows, explosive eruptions, volcanic smog, damaging earthquakes, and local tsunami (giant seawaves).
Why Is Mauna Loa so Big?
Like all Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Loa was created as the Pacific tectonic plate moved over the Hawaii hotspot in the Earth’s underlying mantle. The Hawaii island volcanoes are the most recent evidence of this process that, over 70 million years, has created the 3,700 mi (6,000 km)-long Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain.
Will Mauna Loa Erupt Again?
Activity Summary: Mauna Loa is not erupting and there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time. Monitoring data show no significant changes within the past 24 hours. Mauna Loa continues to be in a state of heightened unrest as indicated by increased earthquake activity and inflation of the summit.
Who Owns Mauna Loa?
Hawaiian Host, the leading chocolate-covered macadamia nut producer, has finalized its acquisition of Mauna Loa, a macadamia nut processor, from The Hershey Co. Mauna Loa joins Hawaiian Host as an official subsidiary, and together they will have more than 300 employees in Hawaii.
Is Mauna Loa Bigger Than Olympus Mons?
Mauna Loa is a shield volcano 10 km (6.3 mi) high and 120 km (75 mi) across. The volume of Olympus Mons is about 100 times larger than that of Mauna Loa. In fact, the entire chain of Hawaiian islands (from Kauai to Hawaii) would fit inside Olympus Mons!
Featured Image by ruedi häberli on Unsplash
