how old it is etc..
2007-03-07 09:19:13 · 3 answers · asked by Ummehani M 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
Rising gradually to more than 4 km above sea level, Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on our planet. Its long submarine flanks descend to the sea floor an additional 5 km, and the sea floor in turn is depressed by Mauna Loa's great mass another 8 km. This makes the volcano's summit about 17 km (56,000 ft) above its base! The enormous volcano covers half of the Island of Hawai`i and by itself amounts to about 85 percent of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.
Mauna Loa is among Earth's most active volcanoes, having erupted 33 times since its first well-documented historical eruption in 1843.
The volcano has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years and may have emerged from the sea about 400,000 years ago, although the oldest known dated rocks do not extend beyond 200,000 years. Its magma comes from a hotspot in the Earth's mantle far beneath the island that has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain for tens of million of years. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry the volcano away from the hotspot, and the volcano will thus become extinct within 500,000 to one million years from now.
2007-03-07 15:07:28 · answer #1 · answered by peter_lobell 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mauna Loa Interesting Facts
2017-01-05 08:56:00 · answer #2 · answered by hazelton 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's the world's primary source of macadamia nuts...
2007-03-07 09:21:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋