Photo & Video Chronology - Kilauea Archive

3 October 2000

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The Pu`u `O`o crater as seen from the air,  back to its usual fumed-in state. Volcanic tremor near Pu`u `O`o continues at a weak  to moderate level.

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Left: On-going lava flows have created an ocean-entry area about 640 m broad (parallel to the coast line) at Kamokuna. The area is comprised of three benches; the central is the largest, about 300 m along the shore and 100 m wide. This bench appears to be the most active; lava can be seen in the large image.  Right: At the Kamokuna entry, active lava draperies are coating the sea cliff.  This activity is accompanied by minor hissing and popping where the surf and lava interact at the bench edge.  Kamokuna is about 1.6 km west-southwest of Waha`ula and has been the site of repeated entries over the years (see map below).

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Left: Lava crust on the west side of a skylight in the active tube at the 2,050-foot elevation. Right: Treacherously thin crust above lava on east side of the same skylight.

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Left: A good-sized skylight just below the 2,300-foot elevation breakout point. This point is the highest at which lava can be seen south of Pu`u `O`o. Right: Close-up of this skylight.

5 October 2000

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This inactive lava tube has been exposed by wave erosion just east of the current Kamokuna ocean entry. The tube may have been used repeatedly, possibly as recently as last summer.

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The Kamokuna bench features plumes of steam as the lava flows into the ocean. Lava flowing over the sea cliff is faintly visible in the large image.

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Left: At the coast, several streams of red lava dribble over old sea cliff near east end of main bench. Right: A closer view of lava draperies forming over the sea cliff.

6 October 2000

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Left: In the foreground is a skylight at the foot of the Pulama pali. The skylight is at about the 250-foot elevation. An hour or so later, lava visible in the tube will reach the sea at Kamokuna. The steam plume from the ocean entry is in the background. Right: A closer view into the 250-foot skylight. Note the thin overhanging crust. Be cautious around skylights!

12 October 2000

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Upper Left: The active bench at the Kamokuna entry is more than 400 m long and as wide as 125-150 m. Upper Right: Most of the lava entry is on the eastern side of the bench, but some takes place at the western end. Left: A  large littoral cone has been built near the center of the bench from explosive activity at the water's edge. It is approximately 3 m high and 20 m wide and has a shallow crater at its top.

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Upper Left: Pulama pali stands out in the background as the flow buries older `a`a in the foreground. Upper Right: The active flow is inflating, with small oozy breakouts at the 1,900-foot elevation. Left: All that remains of an old Hawaiian trail built on an `a`a flow in a kipuka being overtaken by pahoehoe.

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Left: Small surface flows active at the 250-foot elevation. Right: This is near the head of a breakout active above Pulama pali, along the east side of the current flows. The breakout starts at the 1,900-foot elevation, and its longest lobe is 350 m. The flow is moving at a sedate, but steady, rate of  about 1 m/s, and the channel is approximately 1.5-2.0 m wide.

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Left: Solidified blue glassy pahoehoe looks icy where it fills a crack in a normal pahoehoe flow.  Blue glassy flows have a thick dense glass rind in contrast to the thin frothy glass surface of  normal pahoehoe.  Blue glassy flows are thought to form when lava is stored under pressure beneath the thick crust of an inflating flow, causing gas bubbles to be partly dissolved back into the lava. Right: Solid pahoehoe produces intricate textures and exposes colorful oxidation rings.

Large map. Map shows lava flows (red) active in September 2000 above and on Pulama pali and on the coastal plain, as well as flows erupted earlier from Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha. The eastern part of the active flow field (orange) extended to the Royal Gardens private access road on January 11 and entered the sea near Waha`ula on February 3-14, 2000. That flow stopped in  mid-August. A new flow (red) descended  Pulama pali and crossed the coastal plain in September, and lava is now entering the sea at Kamokuna, an area about 1.5 km west-southwest of Waha`ula. 

Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, refer to the HVO home page for current information. Those readers planning a visit to Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes can get much useful information from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.