Pulama pali continues to fume as tube-fed lava travels below the surface on the way to the active ocean entry.

The skylight at the 270-foot elevation is dark. The lava stream is blocked and cannot be seen from here.

Above Left: Tube walls in the skylight at the 250-foot elevation are incandescent, but crust has formed over most of the lava, dimming its brightness. Above Right: Cracks along the tube system below the 250-foot skylight reveal incandescence.
Left: Cracks along the tube system below the 250-foot skylight display sulfur deposits on the surface and incandescent lava beneath.

One breakout is visible on the coastal plain just below the base of Pulama pali. A vigorous pahoehoe flow fans out toward the east, covering a pre-September `a`a flow.

During today's overflight a curious sleigh was seen on the flow field. Upon landing, our scientific research team discovered that Santa Claus and Merry Christmas were vacationing on the Big Island, fed up with the endless joking of elves. The team's interview and photos bring two new findings to light. First, Santa Claus is Hawaiian. Second, he doesn't laugh all the time. The latter is understandable, considering the rock hammer that Ms. Christmas was wielding.

Above Left: The Kamokuna ocean entry has a relatively large steam plume, mainly coming from closely spaced entry points at the center of the bench. Another smaller, isolated plume is at the eastern part of the bench.
Above Right: Two prominent lava-entry points are on the bench. One is indicated by visible lava near the eastern edge.
Left: The visibility around the crater of Pu`u `O`o is better than usual.