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What Type of Volcano Is the Mauna Kea?

Mauna Kea is a shield volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its name means "White Mountain" in Hawaiian because of the snowfall it receives each winter. It is the tallest mountain in the world at 5 1/2 miles when measured from the sea floor to the summit. It juts up to 13,725 feet above the surface of the ocean. As of 2011, Mauna Kea was dormant. It last erupted about 4,500 years ago.

Appearance
- Shield volcanoes get their name from the shield-like appearance of their profiles created by lava flows. Mauna Kea is past its shield-building phase, meaning that the most recent eruptions on the mountain have long since buried its shield profile. The shield has not been visible for roughly 225,000 years. Mauna Kea is only 114 visible feet taller than its neighboring volcano, Mauna Loa, despite the height difference from sea floor to summit.
Lava Flow
- Lava in shield volcanoes flows and cools repeatedly over time, building up the mountains. Lava may also flow from the sides of the mountains, cooling in plateaus nearby. Given that Mauna Kea is dormant rather than extinct, lava could flow from it again. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, future flows are likely and earthquakes could foreshadow any future eruptions.
Vents
- The lava flows of shield volcanoes come from vents and sometimes fissures on the sides of the mountains. The past lava flows of Mauna Kea appear to have come from vents near the top and fissure vents along the sides. Eruptions from vents at the top of Mauna Kea have formed a group of cinder cones---cone shaped hills---at the top of the volcano.
Astronomy
- Local Hawaiian shield volcanoes such as Mauna Loa are currently active and have relatively inhospitable summits. Mauna Kea has a more hospitable environment. Its height combined with its broad shape and dormancy helped lead it to become the home of the world's largest astronomy observatory. There are 13 telescopes on Mauna Kea.

Nature