Lōʻihi is a seamount, or underwater volcano, on the flank of Mauna Loa, the Earth's largest shield volcano. It is the newest volcano created by the Hawaiʻi hotspot in the extensive Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. The distance between the summit of the older Mauna Loa and the summit of Lōʻihi is about , which is, coincidentally, also the approximate diameter of the Hawaiʻi hotspot. Lōʻihi consists of a summit area with three pit craters, an long rift zone extending north from the summit, and a long rift zone extending south-southeast from the summit.