Aerial view of a flow being erupted from one of the rootless shields active above the main lava tube downslope form Pu`u `O`o. Width of view is 75-100 m. The shiny crust indicates that it is very hot. A rootless shield is a pile of lava flows built over a lava tube rather than over a conduit feeding magma from within the earth. Rootless shields along the tube system commonly have a flat top containing a shallow lava pond.

Looking northwestward along a chain of six rootless shields toward Pu`u `O`o, the source of fume in upper center. The shields are fed by lava flowing from Pu`u `O`o through a tube system that extends beneath the shields to the lower part of the photo. Shield in foreground is the lowest of six and is centered at about the 2050-foot elevation. Uppermost shield--indistinct in this view--is centered at about the 2240-foot elevation. Active or recently active lava can be recognized by its shiny silvery appearance. Four of the shields were active today.

Series of four images taken in early morning sun showing surging advance of front of an `a`a flow, a distributary of the branch of the cascading river shown in right image above. This image taken at 07:12:14.

07:12:40. Twenty-six seconds later, note how the large solid chunk of crust has tumbled downward, rotated, and broken into two large pieces.

07:12:50. Ten seconds later, flow is flattening out and grinding away the edges of the large piece of crust. Shadow of photographer gives scale.

07:13:12. Twenty-two seconds later and from a slightly different vantage point, the surge from the flow front is ending, and the new lobe is spreading out and slowing.