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How did Mauna Loa happen?
Scientists believe Mauna Loa began to form over a million years ago when red hot lava spilled out from a crack in the ocean floor. The lava cooled and formed a raised area on the bottom of the ocean. This process continued over thousands of years until a sea mount or underwater mountain was formed.
What caused Mauna Loa to be explosive?
While ascending Mauna Loa in 1924, William O. Clark, a former U.S. Geological Survey geologist, noted explosion deposits in a kīpuka along ‘Āinapō Trail. He concluded that the eruptions producing the debris were phreatic (explosions produced by the interaction of groundwater and hot rock or magma) in origin.
What caused Mauna Loa to erupt in 1984?
Lava channel blockage caused an overflow of the main lava channel leading from the “2,900-m vents” of the 1984 Mauna Loa eruption. Lava spills over the collapsed side levee to feed new flows.
How do you get to Mauna Loa?
The summit area of Mauna Loa may be accessed from two trailheads: Mauna Loa Road: 7.5 mi (12.1 km) from Mauna Loa Lookout to Puʻuʻulaʻula, 11.6 mi (18.7 km) from Puʻuʻulaʻula Cabin to Summit Cabin. Elevation gain is significant.
When did the Mauna Loa eruption happen?
Mauna Loa erupted most recently in March-April 1984. Following more than two years of increased seismicity and summit inflation, the eruption began at 1:30 a.m., HST, on March 25, when a fissure opened in Moku’āweoweo, the volcano’s summit caldera.
When did Mauna Loa start erupting?
1984
Volcano Watch — Learning from the 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa The most recent page in Mauna Loa’s eruptive history was written in 1984. The eruption began in March of 1984, about a decade after the 1975 summit eruption (the topic of last week’s “Volcano Watch” article).
When was Mauna Loa first discovered?
1843
Mauna Loa is among Earth’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 33 times since its first well-documented historical eruption in 1843. It has produced large, voluminous flows of basalt that have reached the ocean eight times since 1868.
Where is Mauna Loa located in the world?
Mauna Loa. Written By: Mauna Loa, the world’s largest volcano, located on the south-central part of the island of Hawaii, Hawaii state, U.S., and a part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
How does Mauna Loa affect the Hawaiian Islands?
Trade winds blow from east to west across the Hawaiian islands, and the presence of Mauna Loa strongly affects the local climate. At low elevations, the eastern (windward) side of the volcano receives heavy rain; the city of Hilo is the wettest in the United States.
When did the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii erupt?
In June 1950 a 23-day flow from a 13-mile (21-km) fissure in the southwest rift destroyed a small village. Substantial eruptions at the summit occurred in 1975 and 1984. Lava fountains during the 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. Mauna Loa volcano looming above a road on the island of Hawaii.
Where does the magma from Mauna Loa come from?
The volcano’s magma comes from the Hawaii hotspot, which has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain over tens of millions of years. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry Mauna Loa away from the hotspot within 500,000 to one million years from now, at which point it will become extinct.