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15 December 2000

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Left: Pu`u `O`o was engulfed in steam, so crater observations were nil. Right: Sluggish minimal flow was observed through the 2,300-foot skylight today.

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Left: The active flow down Pulama pali continues to fume despite its current sluggishness. Right: The ocean entry at Kamokuna has a substantial bench, but little activity was visible today. Steam is generated from the eastern quarter of the bench, apparently because some lava is entering the sea, though none was observed.

18 December 2000

Lava moves down the steep face of Pulama pali in the late afternoon, along the eastern side of an `a`a flow emplaced in 1985. The flow follows an extremely narrow lobe of lava erupted earlier this year. Smoke rises from burning vegetation.

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Left: A thin `a`a flow moves through a scrub `ohi`a lehua forest at the foot of Pulama pali, before the wary eyes of an Oregon State University volcanologist. Right: Two OSU volcanologists reassess the situation as fires started by the `a`a move ever closer.

21 December 2000

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Left: Aerial view of an active lava river at the base of Pulama pali. Right: Lava gushing from a small tube and pouring down Pulama pali.

Large map Map shows lava flows (red) active in September 2000 above and on Pulama pali and on the coastal plain, as well as flows erupted earlier from Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha. The eastern part of the active flow field (orange) extended to the Royal Gardens private access road on January 11 and entered the sea near Waha`ula on February 3-14, 2000. That flow stopped in  mid-August. A new flow (red) descended  Pulama pali and crossed the coastal plain in September, and lava continues (early December) still entering the sea at Kamokuna.

Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, so those readers planning a visit to the volcano should contact Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park for the most current eruption information (tel. 808-985-6000).