Images

Aerial photo captured during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. This photo is looking down on a braided lava flow on the northeast flank.

Aerial photo captured during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. This photo is looking down on a section of the braided lava flow on the northeast flank.

Aerial photo captured during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. This photo is looking at the line of fissure vents erupting above 10,000 ft elevation on the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa.

Aerial photo captured during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. This photo is looking at the line of fissure vents erupting above 10,000 ft elevation on the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa.

Aerial photo captured during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. This photo is looking down on a section of the braided lava flow on the northeast flank.

Aerial photograph taken during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. Fissure vents above 10,000 ft on the Northeast Rift Zone generate lava fountains and lava flows to the northeast and parallel to the rift zone. Image courtesy of Civil Air Patrol.

Aerial view taken during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022. Fissure vents at a high elevation above 10,000 ft on the Northeast Rift Zone. Image courtesy of Civil Air Patrol.

Aerial photo captured during an overflight of the Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa at approximately 5-6:30 p.m. HST on November 28, 2022.

Lava fountains along a fissure on Mauna Loa's Northeast Rift Zone at approximately 9:30 a.m. HST on November 28, 2022. The photo was taken looking toward the north. USGS photo by K. Lynn.

An eruption of Mauna Loa volcano started at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 27, 2022. Initial fissures covered the floor of Moku‘āweoweo caldera with new lava, but this area was mostly inactive by the time HVO field crews arrived after sunrise on Monday morning.

Aerial view of Mauna Loa summit with Lua Hou in the foreground followed by Lua Hohonu, South Pit, and Mokuʻāweoweo summit caldera. A small dusting of snow covers the ground east of the summit. The steaming fissure was active during the beginning of the eruption, but this morning the lava in the summit caldera had already cooled to a black color.

Aerial photo of lava fountains along a fissure on Mauna Loa's northeast rift zone at approximately 9:30 a.m. HST on 28 November 2022. The photo was taken looking toward the north. USGS photo by K. Lynn.

Mauna Loa eruption as viewed from Waikoloa at about 1:25am local time (HST). The eruption is occurring from the summit of the volcano, though lava has overflowed the caldera.

A Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight the morning of October 28 provided this view of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor, which slowly rises with the continuing eruption. The active lava lake is visible in the upper right portion of the image.

Gas issues from a crack marking the location of fissures that erupted from Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone in 1950. The presence of gas is normal at this location, near Sulphur Cone. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

Lua Hou, a pit crater located at the southern extent of Moku‘āweoweo, near where it meets the Southwest Rift Zone. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

The southeast side of Moku‘āweoweo, Mauna Loa’s summit caldera. Darker-colored lava flows on the caldera floor are younger than the lava flows on the flank outside of the caldera, which pre-date the caldera. Mauna Kea is visible in the background of the image. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

Lua Poholo, a pit crater located on the northern side of Moku‘āweoweo, Mauna Loa’s summit caldera, near where the Northeast Rift Zone meets the summit caldera. Part of the pre-collapse floor of the pit crater remained intact as the pit crater formed, and is visible as the slanted slab at the base.

The north wall of Moku‘āweoweo, Mauna Loa’s summit caldera, includes the true summit of Mauna Loa, at an elevation of 13,679 feet (4,169 meters). The floor of the caldera is visible in the foreground, with the fissure vents from 1984 cross-cutting the bottom left portion of the image. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

The 1940 eruption of Mauna Loa began and remained within Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera. The eruption was approximately 164 days in duration, and created a lava lake within the caldera. Today, only the cone from that eruption remains visible above the 1984 lava flows that surround it on the caldera floor. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

The 1949 eruption of Mauna Loa began, and remained, within the summit region. However, the 1949 eruption did generate several small lava flows that traveled a few miles south, southeast, and southwest. The 1949 eruption lasted for approximately 144 days, and generated the cone pictured here, extending from above the southwest caldera wall to the caldera floor.