2022 Eruption of Mauna Loa

Duration:

1 minute, 33 seconds

The brief, but unforgettable eruption of Mauna Loa.

 

The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa produced lava flows that predominately traveled north towards Daniel K. Inouye State Highway 200 before ending.

USGS Map

Mauna Loa Erupts

The largest active volcano in the world, Mauna Loa, erupted for about 12 days in late 2022, the first eruption since 1984.

The eruption began in Mokuʻāweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, around 11:30 p.m. HST on Sunday November 27, 2022. After several hours, new fissures opened some distance away from the summit along the Northeast Rift Zone. Soonafter, the summit fissures stopped erupting. By Friday, December 2, the eruption was limited to fissure 3 along the Northwest Rift Zone. Fissure 3, the only active fissure, was producing between 50 and 100 cubic yards of lava per second, flowing down slope and out of the park to the north towards Daniel K. Inoye State Highway 200 (Saddle Road).

On December 13, 2022 the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory determined that "Mauna Loa is no longer erupting." Adding, "Lava supply to the fissure 3 vent on the Northeast Rift Zone ceased on December 10 and sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased to near pre-eruption background levels."

 

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