West Molokai Volcano facts for kids

West Molokai Volcano, sometimes called Mauna Loa for the census-designated place, is an extinct shield volcano comprising the western half of Molokai island in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Geology

It was formed in two volcanic phases during the Pleistocene epoch of the Quaternary period in the Cenozoic Era.

The first formed the broad tholeiitic shield volcano of West Molokai that ended 1.89 million years ago. The second volcanic phase produced postshield alkalic volcanics 1.76 million years ago.

West Molokai overlaps the western flank of East Molokai Volcano, a much larger shield volcano comprising two-thirds of Molokai.