Aerial view inside crater of Pu`u `O`o, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i

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Photograph by J. Kauahikaua on February 25, 1999

Favorable wind conditions permit a good view inside the crater of Pu`u `O`o in late February 1999. The crater floor is marked by several large pits, and lava is visible in one. The decline in crater activity in 1998 (the most recent overflow of lava from Pu`u `O`o was in January 1998) probably results from lava downcutting beneath the flank vents and tubes leading from the vents. As downcutting of the flank vents progressed, the level of lava in the crater lowered, because the vents inside and outside the crater are in hydrostatic equilibrium.