QuakeIndex

Fault · Hawaii

Lo'ihi Seamount

27 kmlong (17 mi), as mapped
> 5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
274quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides grind past each other faster than 5 mm a year — more than half a metre (20 inches) every century.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.2 in 1870 (Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii) — about 63,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 30 kilotons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 3 sections: Lo'ihi caldera, north rift zone, south rift zone.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–1.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

Kilauea VolcanoMauna Loa VolcanoKa'oiki-Honu'apo fault systemHilina fault systemKoa'e fault system M 6.2 · 1870 · Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii M 6.1 · 1919 · 11 km SE of Naalehu, Hawaii
The Lo'ihi Seamount as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 274 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 6.2 Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii
    March 22, 1870 · epicentre 25 km from the trace
  2. M 6.1 11 km SE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    September 15, 1919 · epicentre 25 km from the trace
  3. M 5.2 42 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    August 12, 2026 · epicentre 2 km from the trace
  4. M 4.9 42 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    December 24, 2021 · epicentre 1 km from the trace
  5. M 4.6 43 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    July 27, 2022 · epicentre on the trace
  6. M 4.3 50 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    November 2, 2024 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  7. M 4.2 44 km SE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    August 22, 2019 · epicentre on the trace
  8. M 4.1 52 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    March 27, 2023 · epicentre 5 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 3.2 48 km SE of Pāhala, Hawaii
    2026-08-12 · 9 km from the trace
  2. M 2.8 48 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    2026-08-12 · 8 km from the trace
  3. M 5.2 42 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    2026-08-12 · 2 km from the trace
  4. M 3.3 40 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    2026-08-12 · 1 km from the trace
  5. M 3.1 46 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    2026-08-11 · 2 km from the trace
  6. M 3.3 44 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
    2026-08-11 · 3 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.