Mauna Loa : World’s largest active volcano
Mauna Loa (Long mountain) is one of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii 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 approximately 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km3), although its peak is about 125 feet (38 m) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea.
Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are silica-poor and very fluid, and they tend to be non-exclusive.
Geology:-
Age of rock : 700,000-1million
Mountain type : Shield volcano
Volcanic arc/belt : Hawaiian-Emperor
seamount chain
Last eruption. : March-April 1984
Benefits of living near Mauna Loa :-
Volcanoes provide resources for energy extraction, also called geothermal resources. Heat from the earth’s crust is being converted to energy. The big advantages to this type of energy are that it is very clean and the resources are nearly inexhaustible.
Future of Mauna Loa :-
According to HVO geologist Janet Babb, “There is no indication that Mauna Loa will erupt in the near future.” By that, she means tomorrow or the next few weeks. The reason, she cites, is that seismicity and deformation rates have recently decreased to near background levels.
