What is the present activity of Mount Hualalai near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii ?

Douglas

Dear Douglas,

Hualalai is an active volcano. The resort town of Kailua is on the southwest flank of the volcano. Hualalai last erupted in 1801 and sent lava from a vent on its northeast rift down to the ocean. Swarms of earthquakes in 1929 were probably the result of magma movement within the volcano but there was not an eruption. Hualalai is monitored by geologists of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In the last 24 years there have been no swarms of microearthquakes nor any harmonic tremor . Since the early 1980's the geologists have been surveying the volcano. Hualalai is not expanding at the present time nor has expanded since the geologists began making their measurements. They will make another set of measurements in late October. If anything changes I'm sure we'll hear about it.

Steve Mattox, University of North Dakota

Source of Information:
Asta Miklius, U.S. Geological Survey, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

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