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Margin of Banana flow near end of flow, with upstream part of flow on Pulama pali in background. Three small breakouts visible on Pulama, probably coming from same tube that feeds lava in foreground.
Toe near end of Banana flow, moving from left to right into gentle depression. Note wrinkles and cracks forming in crust on central part of toe. Width of image, 2-3 m.
Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha.Shades of red denote Mother's Day flow, which began erupting on May 12, 2002 and continues to the present. Darkest shade indicates lava flows erupted in November 2003-9 April 2004. Yellow stars indicate centers of recently active rootless shields built along lava tube in Mother's Day flow. As of April 9, no shields were active except for Okita shield, uppermost in the rootless shield complex. As of April 9, most activity was located south of the rootless shield complex and was fed by breakouts from the Mother's Day tube, which now carries lava beneath the shields to the breakout points.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, Prince Kuhio Kalaniana`ole (PKK) flow originated from two vents, main one about 250 m south of base of Pu`u `O`o. That flow was sluggishly active when map was made on April 9.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. 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, and yellow, PKK flow. Vents for these two sets of flows shown by indicated symbols. Gray shows flows of earlier episodes.
