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1 October 2002
From skylight to steaming rock
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| Horizontal views, taken while lying prone,
into skylight on tube feeding lava to northeasternmost entry on Middle
Highcastle delta. Yesterday morning tube filled, and lava gushed out of
this skylight. Width of opening, about 50 cm. Fortunately this view was on
upwind side of tube. Another skylight, on downwind side, was clogged with
choking fume. 0513. |
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| Two views of lava at edge of island, near
southwest end of Middle Highcastle delta. Left. Small spigot in
upper left and open channel in lower right. Width of view, about 10 m.
0604. Right. Telephoto of open channel, 3-4 m long. 0605. |
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| Surf breaks off quenched lava, floats the
pieces first out and then in, stranding them on beach. Left. Partly
incandescent piece, 1 m wide, steaming on sand. 0615. Right. Several
small hot rocks left after wave receded. 0616 |
3 October 2002
From glow to sunrise
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Multiple ocean entries along northeastern front of Middle
Highcastle lava delta create clouds of laze, which is a complex mix of steam
and hydrochloric acid laced with bits of glass from littoral explosions.
Were it not for the laze, there would be little glow. So, praise laze! 0532.
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| Early sunrise views across eastern and
central parts of Middle Highcastle lava delta. Glowing entry areas are same
as those in upper image. Left. 0546. Right. 0549. |
4 October 2002
Day comes to West Highcastle
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| The moon is not paper, the sea, not
cardboard, and the scene, not make believe. Yet the view of lava
pouring into the ocean off the southwestern part of West Highcastle
(formerly called Middle Highcastle) delta is as catchy and memorable as the song. Left.
0501. Right. 0531. |
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| Left.
Taken from same location as left image above just before daybreak. 0542. Right.
Minutes before sunup, entry activity has died back temporarily, but one
large plume of laze wafts seaward. 0606. |
6 October 2002
Inside and outside a tube
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| Left. Looking horizontally into
skylight of tube feeding northeast part of West Highcastle lava delta.
Width of entire opening, about 1 m. 0606. Right. Skylight shown in
left image, in broader context. Blue fume comes from skylight and is both
hot and choking. Looking east toward Lae`apuki. 0606. |
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| Two views of lava toes in small breakout more
or less at head of Wilipe`a lobe one-third of way to Paliuli from
coastline. Toes are less than 1 m wide. Left. 0625. Right.
0628. |
7 October 2002
Same skylight but different sky
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| Left. Looking horizontally into
same skylight shown yesterday, in tube feeding northeast part of West Highcastle lava delta.
Width of entire opening, about 1 m. Wind was more favorable this morning
that it was yesterday, so it was possible to get nearer. 0526. Right.
Predawn sky forms backdrop for glow from two main entry points along
northeastern front of West Highcastle lava delta. 0538. |
8 October 2002
Lava, wrinkles, and flames
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| Left. One branch of narrow flow within
about 270 m of Chain of Craters Road. Note how flow gently snakes around
low rise, always seeking low road. 0555 Right. Tip of other branch
of flow, with amber light on shed in parking area near horizon (best seen
in large image). 0559. |
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| Left. Wrinkled crust on toe of lava as
it burns bush. Width of view, about 1 m. 0619. Right. Lava emerging
from beneath crust along margin of flow moving toward Chain of Craters
Road. Note flames from burning grass. Width of view, about 3 m. 0624. |
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| Left. Lava oozes through sparse grass,
showing contrast between yellowish flame and orange lava. Note wrinkles
developing on crust of lava toe. Width of view, about 1.5 m. 0625. Right.
Color fringes and increasing size of wrinkles show lava moves from upper
left to lower right. Grass burns along bottom edge of view. Width of view, about 3 m. 0626. |
10 October 2002
Close-ups of lava and a nice sunrise
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| Left. Tip of narrow flow tongue 525 m
from Chain of Craters Road. This tongue has moved about 230 m toward road
in past week. Note burning clump of grass in left center. 0611. Right.
Inflating toe resembling a rising loaf of bread. Same flow as in left
image. Width of view, about 50
cm. Crust is growing from bottom up, starting along the base of toe where
lava is slowly extruding. 0609. |
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Toes resembling long sacks of lava in flow shown above.
Width of view, about 3 m. 0608.
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| Close-ups of surface of small lava toe, so early
in the cooling process that only enough crust has formed to record wrinkles and
folds. Both images are in same flow as that shown above, but before dawn. Left.
Corrugated surface of advancing toe, with flames from burning grass. Width
of view, about 75 cm. 0520. Right. Greater close-up, showing some
wrinkles in
detail. Width of view, about 15 cm. 0521. |
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| Sunrise, or more exactly predawn sky, from
site of lava flow shown above. Left. Pink sky and red-orange lava.
Puffing laze plume from Wilipe`a lava delta is strung out left to right by
strong trade winds. 0549. Right. Orange sky. No lava, but pretty
anyway. Scrubby `ohi`a trees form silhouettes. Small puff of laze along
left edge of view. 0600. |
11 October 2002
More on Mother's Day flow
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| Left. Skylight on eastern tube branch
of Mother's Day flow at about 1650-foot elevation on Pulama pali. Blue fume
is sulfurous gas from flow. Right. Margin of Mother's Day flow
through forest above Pulama pali. |
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| Left. Aerial view shows car
turn-around (edge of image) -and pavement beyond, ending at Mother's
Day flow that feeds Wilipe`a lava delta. Inland of road, note fingers of
flow headed through brown grass toward pavement. Length of pavement in
image, 530 m. Right. Most of West Highcastle delta, coated with
white mineral precipitates and sublimates, and adjacent, warm, discolored
water rich in suspended glassy black sand. Former Highcastle site itself is
at head of bay, in area of small grassy kipuka. |
15 October 2002
Glow above Pulama pali
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Surface flow high on Pulama pali casts bright glow reflected
by low-lying clouds. Flow apparently issues from main tube at or just above
top of pali. The three segments of lava span about 500 m. View is from
pavement just beyond gate at end of Chain of Craters Road. 0453.
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17 October 2002
A glorious breakout and a pretty sunrise
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| Left. Overview of breakout area
(foreground) and flow on Pulama pali (background). Breakout occurred along
inner margin of 20-25-m-wide depression. Following views were taken from
position 10-15 m to right of edge of image. 0602. Right. Completely
incandescent surface of wide breakout, at time of greatest activity about 5
minutes after breakout began from inflating flow off top of image. Lava is
moving toward lower left, toward camera, and toward lower right as it fans
outward to fill depression. Width of view, about 8 m. 0510. |
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| Left. Wider view of incandescent
breakout, taken from same vantage point as right image above. Width of
view, 15 m. Note flow on Pulama pali in background. 0516. Right.
Breakout is waning, and most advance now is as bulbous toes coming from
under crust. This one is about 50 cm wide. Note wrinkling of crust
downstream from point of emergence. View looks steeply down into depression
containing breakout. 0524. |
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| More views of wrinkled skin on toes coming
from under crust of large breakout. Left. 0526. Right. Note
bubbles, some stretched, in lava. 0527. |
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| Small stream pours from under crust of wide
breakout and plunges into hole at far side of depression. Left.
Overview of this cascade, directly below camera. Width of view, 4-5 m. Next
views show details of cascade, looking upstream. 0549. Right. Lava
flows toward camera down steep slope into hole. Head-on view of cascade
shown in left image. 0550. |
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| Details of cascade, at higher magnification
that right image above. Width of this and following images, about 30 cm. Note streaked flow lines, incipient wrinkles, and
bits of floating crust. Left. 0552. Right. Crust in center of
cascade is starting to tear apart in upper center as lava plunges down
steep slope. 0553:11. |
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Another section of crust has completely separated into two
pieces on the steep slope. 0553:44.
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| Dueling views of sunrise, with plume of laze
wafting above West Highcastle delta. Images taken from site of breakouts
shown above. Left. 0542. Right. 0557. |
18 October 2002
Mother's Day flow on Pulama pali
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| Left. Dark `a`a flow from breakout at
about 1050 feet on Pulama pali descends onto gentle slope above Paliuli. Gray pahoehoe in background is
from old Far West flow. Note dead brown trees killed by fires as Mother's
Day flow has moved through sparse forest. Right. Active pahoehoe
along eastern margin of Mother's Day flow covers grassy slope on Pulama
pali. |
20 October 2002
Harvest Moon and pasty lava
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| Left. Pasty lava spreads from small
breakout 730 m from ranger hut at end of Chain of Craters Road. Nearly full
Harvest Moon above. 0459. Right. Lava has set fire to brush below
Harvest Moon. Large view shows headlights of car on Holei Pali in upper
right corner of image. 0521. |
24 October 2002
New beaches
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Beaches of black sand are forming along rugged coastline
southwest of Wilipe`a and West Highcastle lava deltas. Black sand is made of
glass, formed when water quenches lava. This view is taken from 3.5 km
southwest of Wilipe`a, with laze plumes from both deltas visible on either
side of niu (coconut) grove.
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27 October 2002
Unsafe viewing "to da max" on Wilipe`a lava delta
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| Like moths to flame, people have walked past park signs
warning of delta (bench) hazards and
ventured across Wilipe`a lava delta to observe lava entering water. This is
totally unsafe. Four people have been killed on lava deltas during the
eruption, in three different ways. People MUST NOT go on the lava delta. No
image shown on this web site has been taken on an active lava delta, and
none will be. Left. Foolhardy viewers serve as Pied Pipers in plain
sight of, and tempting, others heeding park warnings. 0511. Right. Same viewers
with spatter in air from nearby small littoral explosion. Best seen in
large image. 0517. |
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| The Pied Pipers have attracted more. Left.
Four viewers at edge of Wilipe`a delta, with breakout at their feet. 0547. Right.
Group now numbers 7 at dawn. Before long, the group was more than 14. 0607. |
30 October 2002
Northeast end of West Highcastle lava delta
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| Left. Laze plume rises from lava entry
at northeast end of West Highcastle delta. Glow barely visible. Note narrow
streak of steam extending across water surface from entry point. This
indicates presence of hot flow on sea floor reaching beyond front of delta.
0611. Right. Just couldn't pass up this sunrise, taken from same
place as left image. 0608. |
Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 10 September 2002
Map shows lava flows erupted during the 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o
and Kupaianaha (see
large map). Active flows in May-July (shown in red) originated from two
sources?the area of the rootless shields and an area just southwest of Pu`u
`O`o. The two flows from the rootless shields are the Boundary flow, the longer
flow along the edge of the national park, and the HALP flow, which moved into
Royal Gardens subdivision on May 21. Lava from the Mother's Day flow (red flow on west side of flow field)
reached the sea at West Highcastle early on July 19, at Wilipe`a early on
July 21, and at Highcastle on August 8. From near the southwest base of Pu`u `O`o, the
Mother's Day flow passes along the west side of the flow field and into the
forest, where it started a large wildfire in May that continued into late July. By June 10,
the Mother's Day flow had reached the base
of Paliuli, the steep slope and cliff below Pulama pali and just above the
coastal flat. At the base of Paliuli, the Mother's Day flow abruptly spread
laterally in a series of small budding flows to cover an area nearly 2 km
wide, gradually moving seaward until the West Highcastle and Wilipe`a lobes
finally reached the ocean and started building benches. Activity at West
Highcastle ended in early August, but entry began soon thereafter at Highcastle,
eventually burying tiny kipuka of the Chain of Craters Road. The Wilipe`a entry
died away slowly and had ended by mid-August. Highcastle and neighboring
Highcastle Stairs entries ended on about August 23. For a time there were no
active entries. Then Wilipe`a was reactivated on September 3 and remains active
as of September 19. West Highcastle likewise renewed its activity on September
16-17 but died away during the night of September 18-19. Not shown on the map is the new northeastern end of the
Wilipe`a bench, which extends halfway to West Highcastle from the east end of
the bench shown on the map.
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.
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