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Images and Chronology

31 July 2009

Spectacular aerial views of Mauna Loa and neighboring volcanoes!

Left. Beautiful weather this morning permitted great views of Mauna Kea, on the right, and Haleakalā, on the neighboring island of Maui, in the distance on the left. The cones in the foreground are along Mauna Loa's north east rift zone. Right. The high point of Mauna Loa, in the background at an elevation of about 13,679 ft, is actually just the highest point along the rim of the steep cliffs that surround Mauna Loa's summit caldera, Moku`āweoweo, Dark-colored lava flows of recent vintage (1984) cover the floor of Moku`āweoweo. View is looking southwest.

Left. This edge of the cliff above Moku`āweoweo, at an elevation of 13,661 feet, is only a few feet lower than Mauna Loa's high point (out of sight to the left). The cliff here is about 600 feet high. Mauna Kea, in the background to the right rises to an elevation of 13,796 feet, barely 100 feet higher the summit of Mauna Loa. Haleakalā, to the left almost 100 miles away and separated from Hawai'i by 30 miles of open ocean, rises to 10,023 feet above sea level. Right. This view of Mauna Loa's summit is looking toward the northeast. The east flank of Mauna Kea is to the left, and North Pit, on the northeast end of Moku`āweoweo, is straight ahead.

21 September 2008

Comparative views of the 1949 cinder-and-spatter and 1940 vent cones

Left. The 1949 cinder-and-spatter cone (left) and 1940 spatter cone (right) as seen from the floor of Mauna Loa's summit caldera, looking to the southwest. Pāhoehoe flows in the foreground were erupted in 1984. Right. Close-up of the 1949 cinder-and-spatter cone as seen from the floor of Moku`āweoweo, Mauna Loa's summit caldera. Pāhoehoe lava visible in the foreground (lower half of photo) was erupted in 1940. Beyond these flows, you can see pāhoehoe flows, spatter, and tephra erupted in 1949.

Left. This view of Mauna Loa's 1940 vent cone, looking to the southwest, shows a fissure that bisected it during the 1984 eruption (crack on the right side of the cone). Pāhoehoe flows and spatter erupted from the 1984 fissure blanket the caldera floor northwest of the cone (foreground). Right. The 1940 cinder-and-spatter cone as seen from the caldera floor looking to the southeast. This cone, which is about 114 m (373 feet) high, was built around the vent as lava spewed from it over a period of 134 days. The dark-colored pāhoehoe flows visible in the foreground were erupted in 1984. Rocky debris on top of the 1984 flows is from small collapses of the steep caldera walls. The largest boulder is about 1 m (3 feet) long.

Left. A close-up view of the 1984 fissure that cut through the southwest side of Mauna Loa's 1940 vent cone. The crack on the right side of the cone is the 1984 fissure. Right. Aerial view of Mauna Loa's upper northeast rift zone near the area where it intersects Moku`āweoweo, the summit caldera. Pāhoehoe flows visible in the foreground were erupted in 1942. Distant steep cliffs (right background) are the west wall of the summit caldera.

2 July 2008

Spectacular views of the summit caldera of Mauna Loa

A view of Moku`āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, as seen from South Pit (looking to the north-northwest). An eruption in 1940 created the cinder-and-spatter cone visible on the caldera floor (right center). This cone, which is about 114 m (373 feet) high, is the largest cone at Mauna Loa's summit. The cone on the southwest rim of the caldera (left center) was built during an eruption in 1949. The light-brown tephra from that eruption mantles pāhoehoe flows in the foreground.

Left. This aerial view of Mauna Loa's summit shows the cinder-cone and lava flows that were erupted in 1949. The crack extending down the left side of the cone is the northeast-southwest trending 1984 fissure that bisected the southwest flank of the cone during the initial phase of the eruption. Light-brown tephra erupted from the 1949 cone thins to the west. The steep caldera walls north (right) of the cone are 70 m (230 feet) high. Right. An aerial view of the 1940 cinder-and-spatter cone on the floor of Mauna Loa's summit caldera as seen from the southeast. The west wall of the caldera (background) is about 170 m (560 feet) high. Most of the caldera floor around the cone is covered by lava flows erupted in 1984.

Those readers planning a visit to Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes can get much useful information from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.