Mauna Loa has complex interactions with its neighbors, Hualālai to the northwest, Mauna Kea to the northeast, and particularly Kīlauea to the east. Lavas from Mauna Kea intersect with Mauna Loa's basal flows as a consequence of Kea's older age, and Mauna Kea's original rift zones were buried beneath post-shield volcanic rocks of Mauna Loa; additionally, Mauna Kea shares Mauna Loa's gravity well, depressing the ocean crust beneath it by . There are also a series of normal faults on Mauna Loa's northern and western slopes, between its two major rift zones, that are believed to be the result of combined circumferential tension from the two rift zones and from added pressure due to the westward growth of neighboring Kīlauea.