The Mauna Loa Volcano, located on Hawaii’s big island, just recently erupted on Nov. 27, 2022. This volcano was the largest active volcano on the southwest side of the big island. It takes up 51% of Hawaii’s Island and it stands 13,681 feet above sea level. By itself, the landmass that Mauna Loa encompasses is almost equal to twice all of the other Hawaiian islands combined. 

The Hawaiian name Mauna Loa means “Long Mountain”. It is among Earth’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 33 times since its first well-documented historical eruption in 1843. The most recent eruptions have been caused by earthquakes which became more frequent in the days that led up to the eruption. There used to be 10-20, but as it got closer to erupting there were around 40-50 each day. These earthquakes were caused by the excess input of magma into Mauna Loa’s summit. The eruptions usually have a five year gap in between each eruption, but it had been 38 years since the most recent one, which was the longest period of quiet time for the volcano. 

The eruption will cause lots of destruction and violent shakes vertically, and horizontally because of the flakes throughout the air. The air will be affected as well since there will be tons of ash and flakes in the air. Residents living around Mauna Loa were not forced to evacuate, most people voluntarily left. Most trails have been open for a couple of weeks now, since the volcano stopped erupting on December 13, 2022.