Eruption of the world’s largest active volcano ‘Mauna Loa

Scientists and researchers have alarmed the residents of Hawaii Island as the world’s largest active volcano ‘Mauna Loa’ is at risk of eruption.

The Mauna Loa volcano:

It is the World’s largest active Volcano in the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
The volcano makes up 51% of the Hawaii Island landmass.
It is an active shield volcano with relatively gentle slopes, with a volume estimated at 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km³).
Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are silica-poor and very fluid, and they tend to be non-explosive.
It last erupted in 1984 which led to destruction on the Island.

What is Shield Volcano?

A shield volcano is a broad volcano with sloping sides that is formed mainly out of runny lava that flows out of its central summit vent.
Examples of Shield Volcanoes: are Mauna Loa on the Island of Hawaii, Wolf volcano on the Galapagos Islands, and Nyamuragira in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Characteristics:
- Basaltic magma, is high in temperature, very low on silica, and with low gas content.
- Basic lava, which is non-acidic and very runny.
- Gentle sides as the lava flow for long distances before it solidifies.
- No layers, as the volcano just consists of lava.

Some Active volcanoes on earth: