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Photo Information
Aerial view of Puka Nui crater on south side of Pu`u `O`o vent, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i
Photograph by R. Krahenbuhl on December 9, 1997
 Top Nearly vertical view into a newly formed collapse pit (Puka Nui) on the south flank of Pu`u `O`o. The pit is 50 m in diameter at the surface and about 50 m deep, tapering to a shaft of uncertain depth.

Bottom Within a year, Puka Nui enlarged to 150-180 m in diameter, and it consumed part of the shield at the base of Pu`u `O`o. The pit continued to enlarge, and  its upper edge nearly reached the rim of Pu`u `O`o cone by the end of 1999.
Aerial view of Puka Nui crater on south side of Pu`u `O`o vent, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i
Photograph by J. Kauahikaua on November 12, 1998


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Updated: 18 May 2000