Volcano Watch: HVO looks to the past to better understand future Mauna Loa eruptions

An aerial view of the prominent 1940 cinder-and-spatter cone on the floor of Mauna Loa’s summit caldera. The cone, about 100 m (330 ft) high, was built during a 134-day-long eruption that began on April 7, 1940. Most of the caldera floor around the cone is covered by lava flows erupted in 1984. (Courtesy photo/USGS)

During the 1926 Mauna Loa eruption, an ‘a‘a flow about 457 m (1500 ft) wide and 9 m (30 ft) high headed straight for the village of Ho‘opuloa on April 18, as shown here. By the next day, the lava flow had destroyed a dozen houses, a church, and the wharf, and had nearly obliterated the bay. (Army Air Corps, 11th Photo Section/via USGS)

Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, has erupted, on average, every 5–6 years during the past 3,000 years.