1975 eruption of Mauna Loa
1975 eruption of Mauna Loa | |
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Volcano | Mauna Loa |
Start date | July 5, 1975[1] |
End date | July 6, 1975[1] |
End time | 7:30 p.m. HST |
Type | Hawaiian |
Location | Hawaii, Hawaiian Islands 19°28′03″N 155°35′29″W / 19.46750°N 155.59139°W |
Volume | 0.030 km3 (0.0072 cu mi) |
VEI | 0[1] |
The 1975 eruption of Mauna Loa was a short-lived
Precursors
No unusual activity was noted on the Mauna Loa
Eruption
At 23:42 HST, a small glow was noted above the southwest end of Moku‘āweoweo. Within one minute the glow extended across the entire summit area and a fume cloud more than 3,300 ft (1,000 m) high was illuminated with a bright orange-red glow from the unseen lava fountains on the caldera floor. A light airplane with two HVO staff members aboard reached the summit area on July 6 at 01:48 HST; a line of lava fountains 66 to 164 ft (20 to 50 m) high crossed the entire floor of Moku‘āweoweo at this time and extended about 0.62 mi (1.00 km) down the southwest rift zone. Lava cascades 300 ft (91 m) high were pouring into three pit craters on the upper southwest rift zone. Lava flows were rapidly advancing to the west and southwest from the southwest rift zone vents.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/1975_Mauna_Loa_lava_cascades.jpg/220px-1975_Mauna_Loa_lava_cascades.jpg)
The eruptive fissures extended rapidly northeastward, across North Pit, and into the upper northeast rift zone at 02:25 HST. At 02:45 HST lava from the North Pit vents began cascading into another summit pit crater, Lua Poholo. By 03:15 HST, the lava fountains on the southwest rift zone and within Moku‘āweoweo were waning, and the lava flows moving to the west and southwest had stagnated. Fountains continued to migrate eastward along the northeast rift zone, but by dawn eruptive activity was largely restricted to echelon vents near the northeast rift zone at 12,400 ft (3,800 m) elevation.[3]
A voluminous
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.
- ^ a b c "Mauna Loa". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ^ "1975 Short-lived Eruption". United States Geological Survey. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ United States Government Printing Office: 539, 540.