The low-angle flanks of Mauna Loa rise nearly 9 km from the sea floor. The elongated profile was created by repeated eruptions of thin lava flows, primarily from fissure vents along NE- and SW-trending rift zones. Almost 90% of the surface consists of lava flows less than 4,000 years old.

Photo by Richard Fiske (Smithsonian Institution).

Keywords: shield volcano

Mauna Loa