Mauna Loa Volcano
Rising to more than 4 km above sea level, the Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on the 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. Mauna Loa is among Earth's most active volcanoes, having erupted 33 times since its first well-documented historical eruption in 1843. Its most recent eruption was in 1984.The Mauna Loa is the largest of the shield volcanoes. The enormous volcano covers half of Hawaii and by itself amounts to about 85 percent of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.