Kīlauea lacks a topographical prominence , appearing only as a bulge on the southeastern flank of the nearby Mauna Loa ; because of this , both native Hawaiians and early geologists considered it an active satellite of its more massive neighbor . However , analysis of the chemical composition of lavas from the two volcanoes shows that they have separate magma chambers , and are thus distinct . Nonetheless , their proximity has led to a historical trend in which high activity at one volcano roughly coincides with low activity at the other . When Kīlauea lay dormant between 1934 and 1952 , Mauna Loa became active , and when the latter remained quiet from 1952 to 1974 , the reverse was true . This is not always the case ; the 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa started during an eruption at Kīlauea , but had no discernible effect on the Kīlauea eruption , and the ongoing inflation of Mauna Loa 's summit , indicative of a future eruption , began the same day as new lava flows at Kīlauea 's Puu Ōō crater . In 2002 , Kilauea experienced a high-volume effusive episode at the same time that Mauna Loa began inflating . This unexpected communication is evidence of crustal-level interactions between Mauna Loa and Kīlauea , even though these two volcanoes are thought to be fairly independent of each other . Geologists have suggested that " pulses " of magma entering Mauna Loa 's deeper magma system may have increased pressure inside Kīlauea and triggered the concurrent eruptions
1984 eruption of Mauna Loa
1984 eruption of Mauna Loa
Kīlauea