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Looking southwest across new lava delta at east Lae`apuki. Entry in lower right is from new eastern appendage of delta, supplied by eastern finger of PKK flow. Rest of glow is on main part of new delta and is from lava supplied by central part of PKK flow near coast. Flow in right half of view is fed by cascade breaking out from tube about one-third of way down old sea cliff. Width of view is about 60-70 m.
Lava oozing from under crust and developing vertical split, from which lava emerged to form another toe just a few seconds later. Note stretched bubbles clearly showing the rolling nature of the lava as it surfaces from under the crust. Thickness of flowing lava, 15-20 cm.
Sheet of lava being delivered from under crust. Note the piece of crust that broke away and is being carried along on a free ride. With imagination, one can see stretched fingers grasping for a way out.
Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha.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 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.
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