| Current Update | Update Archive |

7 April 2001

Glow (left) above breakout point at 1800-1900 feet indicates surface flow there. Two streams (right) descend Pulama pali, probably fed by tubes from the breakout area. Photo from end of Chain of Craters Road at 0455.

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21 April 2001

Pahoehoe and fires--two different things, but they're both hot

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Pahoehoe moving through edge of kipuka just above Pulama pali, along the western margin of the active flow field. The destruction of the forest is eerily quiet. Little is heard except the sticky sound of the lava, the scorching of the flames, and the dull thuds of methane explosions from the periphery of the flow. The scenes above are typical of those that have destroyed about 100 square kilometers of forest and grassland during the eruption. The image in the lower right shows two small tree molds, still with incandescent margins, and the slender `ohi`a trunks that once occupied them.

23 April 2001

`A`a on Pulama pali

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Left: Overview showing active `a`a along east edge of kipuka fringed with brown, dead `ohi`a trees. `A`a is dark, pahoehoe light. Gas plume blows across site of pahoehoe described in April 21 update. Right: Lava issues from mouth of tube near center of photo, about one-third of way down Pulama pali. This lava changed within 100-200 m into `a`a as it cooled and crystallized.

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Left: Channel of fast-moving `a`a flows down pali toward observer. The transition from pahoehoe to `a`a is in upper part of photo. Dark rubble on either side of channel is marginal part of active flow. Note subdivision into smaller channels as slope declines near base of pali. Right: Bend in master channel, with lobes of dark `a`a formed by small channels breaking away from the curve.

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Left: `A`a channel from ground level. The river nearest the camera split from the main channel (upper right) just behind the rise. The black rubble, sometimes called clinker, is very hot and incandescent just below the surface. Right: Front of small lobe of `a`a about 2 m high. Incandescent core is exposed as rubble cascades down advancing front. Often the flow puffs up a little as lava moving to the front is briefly held back by the rubble sheath. Then the sheath falls away and the interior of the flow briefly surges ahead, only to stagnate and repeat the process.

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More views of advancing fronts of `a`a tongues, each 2-3 m high. In left photo, note the glowing piece of rubble that has fallen onto the adjacent pahoehoe flow. Great care has to be taken to avoid being hit by one of these hot rocks rolling away from the `a`a.

In the late afternoon sun, a lone `ohi`a tree puts up a valiant but ultimately futile battle against the `a`a.

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Large map Map shows lava flows erupted during the 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha. The flows active from mid-December 2000 through 22 March 2001, above and on Pulama pali and on the coastal plain, are shown in red. Most of the recent flows are fed from breakout points at 1920-1700 feet, above the pali in the northern part of the large red area. Lava re-entered the sea just west of Kamokuna on January 21, 2001, but soon stopped when activity shifted from the western to the eastern branch of the flow. Active flows are now mostly confined to the eastern branch, but some surface lava can often be seen on the upper part of the western branch. No lava is currently entering the water, though an active flow front is aimed at Kupapau Point.

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; be sure to click on the inDEPTH button.