It is the westernmost, the third youngest and the third most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, after Kilauea and the much larger Mauna Loa. Hualalai, the third of Hawaii's active shield volcanoes, is located northwest and west of its giant neighbors Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.
Hualalai
volcano last erupted between 1800-1801, when it produced lava flows from 5 fissure vents that reached the sea and buried Hawaiian villages. The Hualalai began to erupt about 800,000 years ago and broke the surface of the sea about 300,000 years ago.The volcano has 3 rift zones, the most prominent being the northwest rift, which is about 40 km long and continues in the sea to a depth of 3000 m. Hualalai is the westernmost shield volcano on the island of Hawaii. Hualalai volcano eruptions in 1800-01 occurred from 5 vents with two lava flows reaching the sea. This also presents a clear danger to the surrounding communities; for example, in the event of an eruption similar to that of 1801, Kailua-Kona, which is 15 miles (24 km) from the summit of the volcano, could be completely covered in a matter of hours.
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. However, in 1929, an intense earthquake swarm hit Hualalai over a period of one month, which has been interpreted as due to a magma intrusion near the surface with no surface eruption. North Kona Fall The North Kona depression is a landslide feature located on the western flank of Hualalai volcano. More than three centuries ago, Hualalai volcano erupted with lava from 5 fissures that reached the ocean, as well as volcanic ash buried in Hawaiian villages between 1800-1801.However, in a past life in the distant past, the volcano will almost certainly erupt again. The island of Hawaii is surrounded by four volcanic mountains, and Klauea and a much larger nearby volcano, Mauna Loa, are the two most notable.
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. In about 300,000 years, the volcano broke through the ocean and was one of five that formed on the island. For additional information on Hualalai Volcano, visit the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (Hualalai) page. In these times of great volcanic activity, the island of Hawaii was created by one of the five main volcanoes.
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. 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. The eruption of a volcano called Hydroalai in 1801 produced lava flows from five fissure vents that reached the sea and cemeteries of Hawaiian tribes.
