Moving Mountains: 2022 Mauna Loa Eruption

Fissure Three of Mauna Loa in Hawaii Volcano National Park has been the most prolific fissure of the 2022 eruption. Photo taken at sunrise.

USGS / L. DeSmither

The largest active volcano in the world, Mauna Loa, erupted in 2022 for the first time since 1984. The eruption began in Mokuʻāweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, around 11:30 p.m. HST on November 27, 2022. After several hours, new fissures opened some distance away from the summit along the Northeast Rift Zone. Soonafter, the summit fissures stopped erupting. By December 2, the eruption was limited to fissure 3 along the Northwest Rift Zone. Fissure 3, the only active fissure, was producing between 50 and 100 cubic yards of lava per second, flowing down slope and out of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park to the north towards Daniel K. Inoye State Highway 200 (Saddle Road).

Visit the 2022 Eruption of Mauna Loa web page provided by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, for more information.