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2 June 2006

Desultory breakout and Drainhole

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Left. Languid breakout at the 2300-foot elevation along the PKK lava tube. Small pieces from the underlying surface have been picked up by the moving flow and mar the otherwise smooth skin. 0856. Right. View into Drainhole vent, showing the lava pond during a period of weak spattering. 0927.

9 June 2006

East and east: East Pond Vent and East Lae`apuki lava delta

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Left. Aerial view of eastern end of Pu`u `O`o's crater, showing lava in East Pond Vent. 1049. Right. At the other end of the tube, lava enters the water in two areas along the front of the East Lae`apuki lava delta. These two areas have persisted for a couple of weeks, though generally the entry area at the tip of the delta (left part of image) is larger than that about halfway to the eastern end of the delta (central part of image). 1053.

16 June 2006

Two vents

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Left. Aerial view of roiling lava in East Pond Vent. Lava is about 20 m below rim of pit enclosing the pond. 0917. Right. Lava in Drainhole, a vent west of East Pond Vent. Brief flares of glow often visible on the Pu`u `O`o camera occur when large gas bubbles escape, breaking the crust and exposing the incandescent lava underneath. The level of lava then drops to fill the void left by the escaping gas. Crust then forms on the lava, keeping gas bubbles in the lava from escaping. The bubbles expand, lifting the lava-gas "foam" up the vent,  and eventually break the crust and again trigger drainback. This process, called gas pistoning, takes place many times daily. 0918.

23 June 2006

East Lae`apuki lava delta

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Left. Looking west across East Lae`apuki lava delta. Plumes indicate areas of major ocean entry by lava. White dots are posts along rope barrier warning hikers to stay off the lava delta. 0850. Right. East end of delta, showing how it now wraps around the promontory along the old coastline. 0850.

25 June 2006

Lava falls onto East Lae`apuki lava delta

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Left. Breakout point for lava that forms falls onto East Lae`apuki delta. About 50 m inland from falls. Laze in background comes from front of delta. 0725. Right. Brink of lava falls. Lava appears from under its own crust and plummets to surface of delta. 0838.

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Left. Looking east at lava falls. Cliff is 12-15 m high. 0854. Right. Looking west at lava falls, catching early morning sun. 0749.

30 June 2006

Campout breakout and East Pond Vent

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Left. Narrow stream of lava, solidifying as `a`a, moves down Pulama pali. This is the Campout breakout, the first lava on Pulama pali since February 8. 0853. Right. Closer view of snout of breakout at about the 900-foot elevation below steep part of Pulama pali. Note the carapace of `a`a rubble on, and in levees beside, the fluid interior of the flow. 0902.

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Left. Incandescence under crust of sluggish Campout breakout. Shark's mouth is about 1 m wide. 0930. Right. East Pond Vent in crater of Pu`u `O`o. Active lava pond is weakly spattering and slowly circulating. 1339.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: July 21, 2006

Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha (see large map).

Yellow, brown, and purple areas depict lava flows erupted from October 2003 through July 14, 2006. Yellow indicates the currently active Kuhio (PKK) flow, active most of the time from March 20, 2004 to the present. The PKK tube has fed the East Lae`apuki ocean entry since May 2005. The Campout flow, shown in red, originated as a breakout from the PKK tube near the 2300-foot elevation in late May. The terminus of this flow had advanced to the 200 ft level by July 14, 2006. The brown shade denotes Martin Luther King (MLK) flows, which first erupted in January 2004 from flank vents on the south slope of Pu`u `O`o. Since then, several more vents have formed in the MLK area and continue to erupt intermittently, although no flows have overtopped the collapse pit at MLK since July 2005. Short flows from the crater, West Gap, and Puka Nui vents are shown in dark purple. None of these last three areas have produced any lava flows in 2006.

Map of Pu`u `O`o and vicinity: June 2006

Map shows vents, lava flows, and other features near Pu`u `O`o frequently referred to in updates (see large map). These features can change quickly, but this map should help those viewers lost in the terminology. The vents, lava tubes, and flows active in 2005-2006 include the numbered vents in the crater, the MLK vent complex and associated flows, the Puka Nui vent, and the upper Kuhio (PKK) tube, which feeds the lava flows eventually reaching the ocean.

Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, so refer to this page often. Those readers planning a visit to Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes can get much useful information from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.