What kind of lava flow is Mauna Loa?

Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from beneath lava flows of Mauna Loa has provided the most detailed prehistoric eruptive history of any volcano on Earth. read more

Mauna Loa is a typical shield volcano located in the Hawaii island chain. Like other shield volcanoes, it has gently sloping sides due to the runny lava it produces. Mauna Loa's basalt lava may be thin, but the enormous flows over thousands of years have built up the volcano into the largest volcano on Earth. read more

A collapsing lava delta can trigger explosive activity that hurls hot rocks hundreds of meters (yards) inland and/or seaward. On the Island of Hawai‘i, about 40 percent of Mauna Loa has been covered by lava erupted in the past 1,000 years. More than 90 percent of Kīlauea's surface has been covered by lava in the same time frame. read more

Hawaiian-type eruptions usually produce extremely slow-moving flows that advance at walking pace, presenting little danger to human life, but this is not strictly the case; Mauna Loa's 1950 eruption emitted as much lava in three weeks as Kīlauea's current eruption produces in three years and reached sea level within four hours of its start, overrunning the village of Hoʻokena Mauka and a major highway on the way there. read more

Right: Map of the 1859 Mauna Loa"paired" lava flow. The 'a'a flow (orange) was active for 16 days, advanced at an average flow-front velocity of 133 meters/hour, and erupted at a volumetric flow rate of 208 cubic meters/sec. read more