World's Largest Volcano Erupting in Hawaii

[Stuart G]

Source: CNN

LIVESTREAM: See lava flow from Mauna Loa's eruption
The world's largest active volcano is erupting on Hawaii's Big Island. A livestream from the USGS shows fissure 3 erupting on the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa volcano. If you hit the link, can view it live, right now.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/specials/live-video-2

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I didn't know the world's largest active volcano was in the U.S.A. Did You?
I also didn't know that you could view an active volcano as it erupts?

[Historic NY]

1. I'm glad I was there awhile ago we stayed off the big island

Its like a crap shoot and many people are too complacent about it. I think of the more recent discoveries at Mt Vesuvius.

[C Moon]

17. We stayed in Maui some time ago...

we got up in the morning and walked to a coffee place. On the way, we saw smoke in the distance.
When I got to the coffee place, I asked the guy behind the counter what all the smoke was in the distance. His face turned pale, and he asked which direction. I pointed. And he let out a big sigh and said it was the farmers burning sugar cane.

He added that he was afraid it was a volcano when I said that.

I felt bad because I didn't know that was such a sensitive issue.

[Blues Heron]

19. its a different kind than vesuvious- no chance of a pompeii-type eruption

VOG and glass particulates are the main hazards, as well as lava flows. Massive explosions are nt really in the cards.

[appleannie1]

2. They have cameras all over both Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

I used to go to https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/volcano-updates every day to check on updates. Kilauea has been erupting off and on for years and was very active just a few years ago. Mauna Loa has been napping but is now awake again. She has been bubbling just below the surface while she napped.

[moonshinegnomie]

7. kilauea is still active its just erupting from the caldera now instead of the rift zone

[appleannie1]

14. I had not checked it in years.

I guess I should start again. If you live on the Big Island, safe travels..

[moonshinegnomie]

18. im in occupied texas....

[GreenWave]

3. And yet we talk about inhabiting Olympus Mons

the solar system's largest known volcano about 3x the size of mt. Everest. Located on Mars. Dormant, so they say.

Link primarily Mars, Not so much OM

[Cheezoholic]

4. Direct USGS link without CNN crap

[ancianita]

9. Awesome! Thank you!

[IcyPeas]

15. spectacular. it looks otherworldly.

[Judi Lynn]

24. With the image on "full page" it is mind-boggling. Thank you. 🌋

[Richard D]

5. It is also the largest mountain in the world

When measured base to top.

[moonshinegnomie]

6. largest but no tallest

mauna kea is slightly higher from the ocean floor but mauna loa is much more massive. both mountains are so massive they they depress the earths crust by another 5 miles.

[rubbersole]

8. Doesn't it seem like there are volcanoes erupting around the globe?

Maybe just more news coverage, but it's like a new one coming to life almost daily. That damn Joe Biden!!

[catbyte]

10. The volcanoes in Hawaii are relatively safe as opposed to other volcanoes around the world.

Kilauea and Mauna Loa are shield volcanoes and don't violently erupt as other types of volcanoes. You'll never get an explosive eruption like, say, Mt. St. Helens or Vesuvius. It has to do with the viscosity of the lava. All volcanoes are dangerous, but at least you don't have violent eruptions and pyroclastic flows like you get with, say, stratovolcanoes. From Wikipedia:

A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava erupted from a stratovolcano. Repeated eruptions result in the steady accumulation of broad sheets of lava, building up the shield volcano's distinctive form.

Shield volcanoes are found wherever fluid low-silica lava reaches the surface of a rocky planet. However, they are most characteristic of ocean island volcanism associated with hot spots or with continental rift volcanism.[1] They include the largest volcanoes on earth, such as Tamu Massif and Mauna Loa.[2] Giant shield volcanoes are found on other planets of the Solar System, including Olympus Mons on Mars[3] and Sapas Mons on Venus.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_volcano

[Cheezoholic]

13. Biggest danger (besides the obvious lava flows) from oceanic volcanoes like Mauna Loa

(Warning, possible Xanex trigger )

are huge landslides. Think of the pictures of the side of St. Helens (maybe 1/4 the size of Mauna Loa) sliding down the volcano only at or below sea level and possibly much larger. Slides of that magnitude can send out extremely large "mega- tsunamis" far surpassing those from thrust quakes like affected Japan recently that could swamp the west coast.. There is evidence on the sea floor all around the islands that these have happened in the past. The East coast has also in the past been pummeled and faces a remote threat by similar tsunamis from these huge slides but originating in the Canary Islands volcanic system, which is somewhat similar to Hawaii's. There's a huge crack over there that they monitor very closely.

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth107/node/1609

[Unwind Your Mind]

11. Link to the Ring of Fire page

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/ring-fire

Testing image link:

?itok=cUOFPmVC

[Cha]

12. Mahalo for this report, Stuart..

Stay Safe, Big Islanders!

[Aristus]

16. Donald Trump is claiming that his volcano is bigger.

n/t

[hatrack]

20. Mauna Loa's almost eleven miles in height . . . .

It's so heavy it pushes down the ocean floor by about five vertical miles.

Add that to its undersea height (from the non-mashed section of the seafloor), and then add the section that rises almost 14,000 feet above sea level, and it's about 56,000 feet high.

https://www.explore-the-big-island.com/mauna-loa-volcano.html

[yellowdogintexas]

21. we spent 6 months last year obsessing over a Fagradalsfjall in Iceland

Folks could get fairly close, so it was a real event.
Thousands of tourists swarmed the area; we checked in on it several times a day. You Tube is so wonderful!
Iceland is truly the land of ice and fire

It came back again in August for a few weeks.

There are lots of lovely photos on the internet

[jmowreader]

22. You know what's coming next

Tweet from Marjorie Three Affairs, Republican of Georgia:

"This is all Joe Biden's fault, and you can be sure we will launch an investigation into how he could have fallen down on the job so badly as to allow a volcano to erupt."

Tweet from Trailer Park Barbie, Republican of Colorado:

"Joe Biden caused this volcano to erupt to take people's attention away from how badly he has handled the Border Crisis."

Tweet from Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida:

"In the next Congress, we will impeach Joe Biden for engineering a volcano eruption to cover up Hunter Biden's Laptop."

Marjorie Three Affairs:

"How dare Joe Biden use a volcano eruption to keep people from noticing how expensive gasoline is today."

Trailer Park Barbie:

"With due respect to Representative MTA, it's the border crisis he's attempting to cover up!"

MTA:

"Gas prices!"

TPB:

"Border crisis!"

Gaetz:

"Laptop!"

MTA:

"No, I say it's gas prices!"

TPB:

"My Glock says it's the border crisis. Wanna argue with that big black hole at the end of the barrel?"

Speaker Pelosi:

"I would like to inform my infantile co-workers that the US Constitution says you have to be 25 years old to be in the House of Representatives, not three. So, grow the hell up!"

[Xolodno]

23. World's largest active?

Yellowstone: Am I joke to you?

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/volcano.htm#:~:text=Is%20Yellowstone's%20volcano%20still%20active,also%20reveal%20activity%20below%20ground.

https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/yellowstone-volcano/

https://www.vox.com/2014/9/5/6108169/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

25. no, I didn't know

[RealityChik]

26. Long time Hawaii resident says...

Arrived in Hawaii before it was even a state. Although 28 of those years were spent on Oahu, the husband and I bought what we thought was going to be our blissful retirement home on our favorite island--the Big Island of Hawaii, on the Hilo side. In 2014, there was an eruption that was headed for our home, but stopped at the next town, 2.5 miles away. Too close for comfort. So we sold the house, and built a cedar cabin home on a lake in rural Washington state instead.

Since we sold the house in 2016, the same June 2014 flow resumed, but stopped within a few weeks. Then a few years ago came the massive Kilauea flow that wiped out some 2000+ homes displacing thousands of local folks. Some of the most beautiful Puna locations have been covered with lava. Now Mauna Loa is erupting and appears to be heading for Hilo. When it erupted back in 1984, it stopped in the residential Hilo highlands, just short of downtown Hilo. Truth be told, there are only a couple of locations on the Big Island where you can escape Pele's wrath. It never stops. There are 6 active volcanoes on the Big Island. Sure, land and houses are much cheaper there compared to the rest of the state, but the risks are high. You just never know if your home is next. We have no regrets about leaving Hawaii for good.