1999 January		Large lava bubbles burst on the Kamokuna lava bench. When sea water infiltrates the extremely hot lava tube within the bench, the water flashes to steam and explodes through a skylight in the tube.
1999 February		Visible activity in Pu`u `O`o declined in late1998 as the lava level in the crater lowered and the crater floor collapsed. The gradual lowering of the lava level probably resulted from the erosion of tephra by lava moving through the tube system under the south flank of Pu`u `O`o.
June 1999 July		During most of 1999, lava poured into the sea near Kamokuna, on the south coast of Kilauea. Active lava benches, where new land is created by  flows, collapse frequently into the sea. Bench collapses typically result in a series of strong steam explosions as hot rocks and lava slip into the cool sea.
1999 September		Following a 12-day pause in the eruption, lava flooded the crater floor to form an active pond; the surface level fluctuated 10-15 m through October.
1999 September		Lava erupted in Puka Nui on the south flank of Pu`u `O`o for the first time on September 23, ending a 12-day pause. Four spatter cones were subsequently built in crater, and lava covered the entire floor of the pit.
1999 September		When the pause ended, lava began bubbling beneath old shelly pahoehoe lava on the south side of Pu`u `O`o. By the next day, this 9-m tall spatter cone was blasting spatter 20-40 m into the air.
September 1999 October		Persistent breakouts (top) from a lava tube about 2-3 km from Pu`u `O`o built a broad, rootless shield-like landform (bottom) 20 m tall and more than 500 m in diameter.
1999 December		Lava finally reached the sea in mid December, briefly pouring over the sea cliff at Highcastle and then shifting to Lae`apuki (shown here). At Lea`apuki the lava added to the remnants of a bench that was active in January 1997.
2000 January		Pahoehoe flows spread across the private access road leading to the Royal Gardens subdivision, which was first cut on January 11. The flow field slowly expanded as hundreds of small overlapping pahoehoe flows filled in a broad low area on the coastal plain.
2000 February		An intrusion of magma into the upper east rift zone of Kilauea on February 23 caused minor but noticeable changes in the eruption. Lava continued to enter the tube system at Pu`u `O`o, but blockages in the tube resulted in many breakouts, including this `a`a flow on Pulama pali.

More information about the eruption

• Eruption narrative
• Map of Pu`u `O`o and area covered by lava
• Table of eruption statistics
• Current Eruption Update (updated frequently)

More Photographs of Eruption Summary

• 1983-1986, The rise of Pu`u `O`o: episodic lava fountains build massive cone
• 1986-1991, Eruption shifts to Kupaianaha: continuous effusion sends lava to the sea
• 1992-1994, Eruption returns to Pu`u `O`o: flank vents build shield against uprift side of cone
• 1995-1998, The fall of Pu`u `O`o: collapse claims west flank of cone