QuakeIndex

Fault · Hawaii

Mauna Loa Volcano

59 kmlong (37 mi), as mapped
> 5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
395quakes 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 7.9 in 1868 (The 1868 Great K`au, Hawaii Earthquake) — about 22,000,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 11 megatons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 3 sections: Moku'aweoweo caldera, northeast rift zone, southwest rift zone.

This week vs. its last ten years

30/100

typical

1 quake of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 30% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–3.

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

Kilauea VolcanoKa'oiki-Honu'apo fault systemHilina fault systemLo'ihi SeamountKoa'e fault system M 7.9 · 1868 · The 1868 Great K`au, Hawaii Earthquake M 7.0 · 1868 · Ka`u District, Hawaii M 6.6 · 1880 · Kaoiki area, Hawaii M 6.5 · 1887 · Ka`u District, Hawaii M 6.4 · 1915 · Kaoiki area, Hawaii M 6.3 · 1951 · 20 km SSW of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
The Mauna Loa Volcano as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 395 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 7.9 The 1868 Great K`au, Hawaii Earthquake
    April 3, 1868 · epicentre 24 km from the trace
  2. M 7.0 Ka`u District, Hawaii
    March 28, 1868 · epicentre 23 km from the trace
  3. M 6.6 Kaoiki area, Hawaii
    September 24, 1880 · epicentre 20 km from the trace
  4. M 6.5 Ka`u District, Hawaii
    January 24, 1887 · epicentre 23 km from the trace
  5. M 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii
    March 28, 1915 · epicentre 20 km from the trace
  6. M 6.3 20 km SSW of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    August 21, 1951 · epicentre 22 km from the trace
  7. M 4.2 27 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    November 28, 2022 · epicentre on the trace
  8. M 4.1 22 km ENE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    December 4, 2020 · epicentre 7 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 2.6 28 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    2026-09-18 · 1 km from the trace
  2. M 2.7 19 km ESE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    2026-06-25 · 8 km from the trace
  3. M 2.5 26 km ESE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    2026-05-20 · 5 km from the trace
  4. M 2.9 27 km ENE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    2026-05-09 · 7 km from the trace
  5. M 2.8 25 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
    2026-04-23 · 5 km from the trace
  6. M 2.9 14 km NNE of Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii
    2026-03-13 · 4 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.