Photo & Video Chronology - Kilauea Archive

8 October 2004

Pu`u `O`o and PKK

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Left. Fume, thick enough to require a gas mask, issues from cracks between June 25 spatter cone and south base of Pu`u `O`o, visible at upper right edge of image. Sulfur lines many cracks. 0814. Right. Aerial view looking northwestward at Pu`u `O`o. Lava flows surround lighter cone, made of scoria and spatter. Part of crater visible in upper right; largest fume column comes from East Pond Vent. June 25 cone, shown in left image, is barely visible at distant base of Pu`u `O`o. 1242.

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Left. Small breakout along edge of PKK flow at 1650-foot elevation on Pulama pali. Ferns grow on flow surface about 2 yr old. 0959. Right. Another breakout within confines of PKK flow at same elevation. 1001.

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Left. Sluggish lava emerges from elephant-skinned toe of pahoehoe, 1540-foot elevation, Pulama pali. Such sluggish lava is common in this area and reflects somewhat cooler temperature than for the breakouts shown above. Right. Several small breakouts near east edge of PKK flow at 1540-foot elevation. Note mound of small tongues built over past several days. 1016.

22 October 2004

Pu`u `O`o Crater and channeled `a`a flow from PKK

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Left. The crater of Pu`u `O`o. looking southwest. The large cone in the left foreground is East Pond Vent. The top of this cone collapsed in the last two weeks, leaving a larger chimney for escaping gases. The crater vents have been quiet for the last several months, with no new lava flows since mid-summer. Right. Channeled `a`a flow from the PKK tube system advances down the steep slope of Pulama pali.

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Active pahoehoe flow breaks out of PKK tube on gentle slope above Pulama pali. Low hills on skyline are rootless shields that formed earlier in this eruption.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 24 August 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 2003-24 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 to August 24. As of August 24, most activity was located in the Banana flow, fed by the Banana branch of the Mother's Day tube. The PKK flow remains active, too.

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.