Bigger doesn't always mean taller
Bigger doesn't always mean taller
Mauna Loa contains at least 75,000 cubic kilometres of volcanic material.
at least ~75,000 km³
A lower bound — the real total may be larger.
Approximate lower-bound estimate
Why this is interesting
Mauna Loa's summit isn't the highest on Earth, or even in Hawaiʻi. Its record is size: USGS calculates its volume at at least 75,000 km³.
How this measurement works
A mountain's summit gives very little sense of a volcano's total bulk. Mauna Loa covers about half the Island of Hawaiʻi, and its submarine part is even more massive than what's above water.
Much of that volume sits below sea level, and some below the ordinary seafloor — the same hidden structure behind its 17 km geological height.
"At least" matters: 75,000 km³ is a minimum estimate, not an exact volume.
How certain is this?
Authoritative lower-bound estimate. USGS gives Mauna Loa's volume as at least 75,000 km³; the true total is not known precisely.
A cited lower bound, not an exact total.
Sources & further reading
USGS
Mauna Loa geology and volume(opens external site)USGS
Geology and History of Mauna Loa(opens external site)Volume at least 75,000 km³
USGS
Geology and History of Mauna Loa(opens external site)Surface area and submarine extent
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