Volcano of the Week #4- Mauna Loa

I'm considering changing the name of this feature to Volcano of the Whenever I Can Be Bothered to Write a Blog Post, however it doesn't have the same ring.




Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth, it is situated on Hawaii's Big Island, the name means Long Mountain, which is apt as it covers a colossal 75,000 cubic kilometres. Hawaiis Big Island is also home to four other volcanoes making up the Hawaii hotspot. Neither the height or violence of eruptions are remarkable features about Mauna Loa. The volcano is constantly active and frequently has lava flows and fountains which is typical of the Hawaiian style of eruption. The first recorded eruption was in 1832 and there have currently been no eruptions since 1984, which makes this the longest period of inactivity in recorded history. Eruptions occur at both the crater (Mokuʻāweoweo) and rift zones, volcanic activity switches between the two in a cycle which lasts about two thousand years. Mauna Loa is one of 16 decade volcanoes, volcanoes that are thought to be worthy of special study and monitoring due to the proximity to civilisations and eruptive history.