Lava pours over former sea cliff at Lae`apuki, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i

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Photograph by D.A. Swanson on December 15, 1999

Lava flows finally entered the sea again in December 1999 after sticking to dry land for 2.5 months following a pause in the eruption in September. The flow first tested the waters at Highcastle (shown here), then shifted to Lae`apuki, where lava last entered the sea in January 1997. The Highcastle entry was active for only a few days, but lava continued to add new land to Hawai`i at Lae`puki for the next several months. This is as close as active lava has come to the end of Chain of Craters Road since 1997. Coinciding as it did with the holidays and the brightest full moon of the 20th century, the entry drew thousands of spectators.