Talk:Mauna Loa

WP:URFA/2020

I am reviewing this very old FA as part of WP:URFA/2020, an effort to determine whether old featured articles still meet the featured article criteria.

• There is an inconsistent citation style, particularly with author names, but everything needs to be checked.
• Not a high-quality source: "Mauna Loa, Hawaii". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 12 December 2012.[self-published source?]
• Who is this, what makes it high quality? John Seach. "Mauno Loa Volcano – John Seach". Retrieved 24 January 2013.
• Excessive off-topic detail in Wilkes expedition.
• Updating and checking throughout needed. As but one example, https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/mlo/ says that the Observatory is at 11,125 feet. We link to a ten-year-old archive, and use a different number. All older archived info should be checked as this FA is approaching two decades old.
• Dead links: https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/ Means I can't verify if this is still true from the source given: including 33 eruptions since the first well-documented eruption in 1843 BUt I did find that info here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/active-volcanoes-hawaii
• Here's an entire paper on the 1880 eruption, plucked from the over 4,000 sources returned by google scholar since 2017 only; is anyone keeping this article updated?

A Featured article review is probably necessary here, unless someone can update the article. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 03:16, 18 December 2021 (UTC)

I deleted the Seach source -- it seems like a self-published website and the person does not seem to be a trained volcanologist. The statements that used that particular website as a source also referenced other, higher quality sources so nothing lost removing it completely. I am hoping to look at some of these other issues raised here later as time permits during the holidays. Aoi (青い) (talk) 09:50, 18 December 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for taking this on! My list is samples only, and indicate a read-through of everything and check for newer sources might be called for. I can’t keep every URFA review watchlisted, so please ping me when you are ready for a new look. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 15:10, 18 December 2021 (UTC)

Just leaving a note to acknowledge that I saw this. Thanks for pointing these issues out. I'm slowly going through the article sentence by sentence and source by source in my sandbox, though I probably lack the expertise to evaluate some of the more technical geophysical statements in the article. (Perhaps more significantly, I also am not familiar with the URFA process, so I appreciate your patience!) Thanks, Aoi (青い) (talk) 07:03, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

Checking back in; is this ready for a new look? SandyGeorgia (Talk) 03:07, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Sorry for the delayed response, I just saw this message now. I've been gathering newer sources and doing some incremental work on working through the sources in my sandbox, but unfortunately my work schedule this year has meant that this project is slow-going. This is in the top 3 of my to-do list and appreciate your patience--I am hopeful I can make some meaningful progress on this in the next couple of months. Aoi (青い) (talk) 03:51, 26 July 2022 (UTC)

Hawaiian diacritics

There should be consistency in usage of the okina and kahako, no? I'm all for foregoing them entirely, or using them completely, but using them here and there inconsistently can't be the right approach. 2001:268:922C:3D45:6D17:28AC:FA32:635 (talk) 03:18, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

Better image

The current image is really low resolution and was taken almost 40 years ago, so it should be replaced. Any suggestions for replacement images? Mucube (talk • contribs) 18:53, 19 April 2023 (UTC)

This site may be a good place to start looking for public domain photos. I personally like this image from November 2022, which shows recently active fissures on the volcano's southwestern rift zone with a somewhat clear view of the summit caldera in the background. Aoi (青い) (talk) 19:24, 19 April 2023 (UTC)

That looks like a nice photo but for the photo at the top we would probably want one that shows the entire mountain, like the one we have now, but more high quality. Mucube (talk • contribs) 20:19, 20 April 2023 (UTC)

I agree that would be a better image. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a (relatively) high-res image similar to the one in the infobox currently (except this one, but the Mauna Kea cinder cones in the foreground are a bit distracting). There probably is a good image out there; I'll keep my eye out in case I see one. Aoi (青い) (talk) 21:07, 20 April 2023 (UTC)

There may also be candidates in c:Category:Remote views of Mauna Loa. Aoi (青い) (talk) 21:11, 20 April 2023 (UTC)

Largest Volcano (reopened)

Given this is a good article and noting previous issues I have marked obsolete one source in lead. The USGS has it right when it (? now) says it is the largest active volcano. Mauna Loa Can I suggest once sources and evidence is examined by others that the introduction sentence that reads "The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and volume, Mauna Loa was historically considered to be the largest volcano on Earth until Tamu Massif was discovered to be larger" be changed to read " The largest active volcano on Earth, Mauna Loa was historically considered to be the largest on Earth until the inactive Pūhāhonu and Tamu Massif were discovered to be larger." The current reference 1 of the article should be updated as it is inaccurate as to title now but the article clicked through to is accurate as it has I assume by difference in title wording been updated.

It is no longer the largest (although it is the tallest) subaerial shield volcano - see Garcia, Michael O.; Tree, Jonathan P.; Wessel, Paul; Smith, John R. (2020-07-15). "Pūhāhonu: Earth's biggest and hottest shield volcano". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 542: 116296. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116296. ISSN 0012-821X.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link) Essentially the problem is one of obsolete source and failure to update article given this new knowledge. I can not identify any academic rebuttal. An issue that might arise on further study is whether Pūhāhonu is more than one volcano, but that issue is considered by the authors. ChaseKiwi (talk) 01:20, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

When I detected another outdated source in first two paragraphs of lead causing a now false statement and noticed other source issues at beginning of article I have at least corrected lead to read accurately and updated the USGS reference to its new title. I have not dealt with all other reference style issues such as capitals for titles of the Alert bulletins. I have not checked for obsolete statements in bulk of article outside the issues brought up in the lead.ChaseKiwi (talk) 09:34, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Article shows no evidence of being actively monitored by others so have updated incorrect text of article but not removed obsolete references and dead links that would need a rework if article's good article status was comprehensively reviewed. Think some if not all references in lead could be removed now myself in such a rework as appear to be in text. ChaseKiwi (talk) 12:01, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

References

Wiki Education assignment: Environment and Justice online

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 March 2026 and 1 May 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Lambhyraxyes, Willowandsilver98, Microwava (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Wiki-Kay, Panda1227, Iris.Alouette, Strombocarpa.

— Assignment last updated by K80 VN (talk) 21:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 May 2026

Add paragraph underneath today section in History Header on the cultural significance of Mauna Loa to the Hawaiian People.

Proposed section :

Mauna Loa holds cultural and spiritual significance to the native Hawaiian people. The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa was an opportunity for native Hawaiians to practice Hawaiian religion. There are multiple volcano creation myths in Hawaiian religion, though Pele is regarded as the goddess of fire and volcanoes and is the primary recipient of traditional worship during eruptions. These worship practices include offerings to the volcano, meditation, and chanting, though this is not an exhaustive list. Spiritual Hawaiians regard the volcano as a family member, or Kupuna, and honor the event as a way to reconnect with the land. Microwava (talk) 03:39, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

 Not done. Sorry, but this is fairly poorly written and isn't going into an WP:FA. That being said, there might be some room for a discussion of cultural significance here, but I don't see why any of this is specific to Mauna Loa and not about volcanoes generally. Also, on a side technical note, don't use "Source1" and "Source2" for ref names...use something more descriptive. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 13:27, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

I agree ... there may be a place for mentioning Kupuna (or kūpuna if plural volcanoes) and what has been recognised in other jurisdictions in their accommodations with historic Polynesian culture as legal personality, but the Guardian article alone is a poor source for what in at least the jurisdiction I am perhaps more familiar with took years of debate with regard to Taranaki Maunga. ChaseKiwi (talk) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

References