Photo & Video Chronology - Kilauea Archive
Kilauea Latest Entries | Search | Kilauea Archive3 December 2004
June 25 vent and PKK lava
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| Left. View of June 25 vent complex from south flank of Pu`u `O`o. Note yellow-jacketed person for scale. 0909. Right. New hole into June 25 vent complex. Lava is about 3 m below surface and was spitting spatter when image was taken. 0917. | |
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| Left. Smoldering log along edge of middle arm of PKK flow on Pulama pali. The far end of the log has burned completely away, leaving a log mold. 1115. Right. Active terminus of middle arm of PKK flow at 1500-foot elevation on Pulama pali. 1158. | |
15-17 December 2004
On-again off-again ocean entry
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| Left. On-again. Looking east at active Lae`apuki lava delta on December 15. Lava is visible near left edge of view. 0717. Right. Off-again. Aerial view of quiet Lae`apuki lava delta on December 17. Absence of steam shows lack of ocean entries. 1026. | |
22 December 2004
Breakout details, west arm of PKK flow
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| Left. Sluggish breakout with folded and crinkled crust, a few hundred meters inland from coastline in west arm of PKK flow. Width of image, about 1.5 m. 0816. Right. Small flakes of crust picked up from underlying surface dot top of active breakout. Loose pieces of crust are trapped by overriding lava, which are lifted up as the lava develops crust and inflates. Width of view, 2-3 m. 0818. | |
30 December 2004
Murky day as 2004 staggers to its end
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| Left. It takes two geologists to bail out water from the supposedly water-tight housing for the Pu`u `O`o camera. Murk in background is fume socking in crater. 1048. Right. Aerial view of solidified lava flow that spills from depression at Puka Nui. Oxidized spatter and cinder from Pu`u `O`o cone gives symmetry to view. 1012. | |
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| Left. Aerial view of spatter cone and incandescent hole at Puka Nui-June 15 complex. Hole is several meters wide. 1003. Right. Terminus of east arm of PKK flow (shiny) below Pulama pali, looking northeast. Nearest finger of flow is enveloping brown shatter ring formed in 1999. 1105. | |
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| Left. Lava flows from left to right in dark streak across center of image. This stream is in west arm of PKK flow on Pulama pali. The lava solidifies to `a`a, clinkers of which give dark color. 1101. Right. Same flow as in left image, showing channel of lava between banks of `a`a. Note tour helicopter near left side of image. 1111. | |
Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 19 November 2004
Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha (see large map).
Shades of red and bright yellow denote Mother's Day flow field, which began erupting on May 12, 2002 and continues to the present. Darkest red indicates lava flows erupted in November 2003-August 2004, including the labeled Banana flow, which developed gradually starting in the middle of April. Orange shade denotes MLK flow, erupted in January and, in brief spurts, subsequently. Yellow shade indicates Kuhio (PKK) flow, active most of the time from March 20 through November and reaching the sea on the evening of November 5-6.
Through September and into early October 2003, lava was moving along the east and west sides of the Mother's Day flow. The east-side lava (known as the August 9 breakout) came from the August 9 rootless shield, itself fed by the main Mother's Day tube from Pu`u `O`o. The west side lava, known as the Kohola arm of the Mother's Day flow, branched off the tube system below the rootless shield.
In early October 2003, the August 9 breakout stopped moving, the Kohola died back to a trickle, and the one labeled rootless shield gained prominence. By October 16, however, the shield had partly collapsed, leaving several drained perched ponds behind. Upstream from the shield, many hornitos and small flows formed over the Mother's Day tube. Soon thereafter, other rootless shields began to form over the Mother's Day, August 9, and Kohola tubes.
New vents opened at the southern base of Pu`u `O`o on January 19 and fed Martin Luther King (MLK) flows, which remained active until March 5. Several small vents formed during this time. On March 20, Kuhio (PKK) flow originated from two vents, main one about 250 m south of base of Pu`u `O`o. This flow has remained active most of the time to the August 24 date of this map.
The Banana flow developed from breakouts from the Mother's Day lava tube, centered near the former Banana Tree kipuka. The breakouts become prominent in the middle of April, and lava started down Pulama pali shortly thereafter. This is the time that we assigned the name Banana to the flow.
Vents in West Gap Pit became active in early October, were quiet for 3 weeks, and then resumed intermittent activity that continued well into December. Other vents were also sporadically active in Puka Nui (near West Gap Pit) and in the crater of Pu`u `O`o.
Map of Pu`u `O`o and vicinity: 24 August 2004
Map shows vents, lava flows, and other features near Pu`u `O`o frequently referred to in updates (see large map). These features change often, but this map should help those viewers lost in the terminology. The cones in West Gap are just outside the boundary of the crater--the oval-shaped depression containing the seven numbered vents (now down to 6, as Humble Vent has been buried by a mound of lava flows erupted from Dave's Pit/Vent in March. Red color denotes flows--the Mother's Day flows--erupted since May 12, 2002. Light orange color indicates episode-55 flows erupted between March 1997 and August 2002 (exclusive of Mother's Day flows). Darker orange represents MLK flows; yellow, PKK flow; purple, Puka Nui flow. Vents for these sets of flows shown by indicated symbols. Gray shows flows of earlier episodes.
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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