Live cameras in Mauna Loa, United States

Mauna Loa covers about half of Hawaii Island and is the largest active volcano on Earth by volume. Its gentle shield rises to 13,679 feet, and at the top sits Mokuaweoweo, a caldera roughly 3.9 by 1.6 miles made of overlapping pit craters. Rift zones run from the summit to the northeast and southwest. The volcano has erupted more than 30 times since the first well-documented eruption in 1843. The latest began on November 27, 2022, and ended on December 13 that year, with fissures on the Northeast Rift Zone sending lava toward the Saddle Road.

The cameras on this page come from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, with images refreshing about every five minutes. One looks into Mokuaweoweo from the summit (MLcam); another watches the summit and Northeast Rift Zone from Mauna Kea (MK2cam); a third looks at the northwest flank from Hualalai (HLcam). Because our map links cameras within about 35 km, this page also shows several Kilauea summit cameras, which can be busier. HVO uses the views to catch steam, fume and glow, the first signs that new fissures are opening. Alerts follow the USGS scheme: Volcano Alert Level Normal, Advisory, Watch or Warning, and Aviation Color Code Green, Yellow, Orange or Red.

On the north flank stands NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory, at about 11,150 feet, where carbon dioxide measurements began in 1958 and grew into the Keeling Curve, the best-known record of rising CO2. In 2022, lava crossed the observatory's access road and cut its power for a time.

When to look

Hawaii stays on Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (UTC-10) with no daylight saving. The summit sits above most clouds, so early morning views are often clear, while afternoon clouds tend to build on the slopes. Winter storms can dust the top with snow, which is a lovely sight on the Mauna Kea camera.

On our map, Kilauea is right next door and has been erupting in episodes since late 2024.

Sources: Mauna Loa - Wikipedia · USGS volcano webcams · Mauna Loa - USGS.