It emerged from the ocean about 300,000 years ago and is one of the five volcanoes that make up the island. Mauna Kea volcano is one of the most interesting volcanoes on the island of Hawaii. Considered inactive (a sleeping giant), Mauna Kea last erupted about 3,500 years ago. Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from its base on the seabed.
Depending on your route and what you visit in the summit area, this is 21.5 to 25 miles round trip and approximately 6,300 vertical feet of elevation gain. Although 200 years have passed since the last Hualalai eruption, it is almost certain that it will erupt again.
Despite maintaining a very low level of activity since its last eruption in 1801, and having been unusually inactive for the past 2000 years, Hualālai is still considered to be active and is expected to erupt again sometime in the next century. Shield Volcano Hualalai volcano, at the western end of the island, is Hawaii's third youngest shield volcano. Three rift zones, dotted with ash cones and splash cones, tend to the north, northwest and SE, and converge about 5 km E from the summit. Is Hualalai volcano active or inactive? When was the last lava flow in Waikoloa? Lava flows represent by far the greatest danger in a possible future Hualalai eruption, because although explosive pyroclastic eruptions have occurred during the Holocene epoch (the last 10,000 years), they are relatively rare and cover only limited parts of the volcano.
During this period, no microearthquake swarms or harmonic tremors (both indicative of magma migration) have been recorded, although Hualalai experiences several magnitude 4 earthquakes each year. While Kilauea may be Hawaii's most famous volcano, Mauna Loa and Hualalai are also active volcanoes. Hualalai, Mount Hualalai, Hualalai Mountain or Hualalai Volcano: it's just one name, Hualalai. Hualalai, which last sprouted in 1801, rises above the city of Kailua-Kona, but is relatively low compared to neighboring Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.
Hualalai volcano is considered a potentially dangerous volcano on the island of Hawaii that is delayed for an eruption. The other three volcanoes, Mauna Loa, Hualalai and Kilauea, are active, however, the latter is the only one that is actively erupting. Lava flows from Hualalai and Kohala volcanoes (along with coral deposits) have buried most of Mahukona volcano.
For residents of the Kona area, keep in mind that Hualalai hasn't erupted since 1801; Mauna Loa is considered active but hasn't erupted since 1984. No magma-related seismicity or soil deformation has been detected recently in Hualalai, making it difficult to say if and when the next eruption could occur. However, in 1929 an intense earthquake swarm hit Hualalai for a period of one month, which has been interpreted as due to an intrusion of magma near the surface, without a superficial eruption.
