Big Island 2004

Lava flows and volcanic features on Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Hikers on way to lava front (not visible)....Pulama Pali....1500 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Lava Front....W PKK branch.....Pulama Pali.....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Small tree on the left which had survived a close call two hours ago starts to burn as it is engulfed by another stream of lava....lower Pulama Pali....east branch of PKK flow....Oct 24, 2004
Lava stream surges forward and consumes the dead logs at the base of the small tree....lower Pulama Pali.....east branch of PKK flow.....Oct 24, 2004
A small a'a flow coming from the west branch of the PKK flow goes unnoticed from the hikers.....lower Pulama Pali....Oct 24, 2004
West PKK flow front.....Oct 27, 2004
West PKK flow front has advanced 1.5 miles from the top of the pali (hillside) since Oct 19....top of pali is 1800 feet in elevation and present front is at 400 feet.....Oct 27, 2004.....(see pictures from Oct 19)
Floating crust rises above flowing lava....west PKK flow....Nov 5, 2004
West PKK flow has travelled almost three miles and dropped 1700 feet in elevation since Oct 19 when it crested the top of the hillside in the background....Nov 5, 2004
Lava drops from the edge of the new bench and is quickly quenched by the surf.....west PKK flow.....Nov 8, 2004
Small breakout high on Pulama Pali....mid PKK flow.....Nov 18, 2004
Lava stream rushes down steep part of Pulama Pali after breaking out from lava tube higher up....1600 foot elevation of west PKK flow....Nov 22, 2004
Pkk flow...Dec 22, 2004
Pkk flow....Dec 22, 2004
Glowing tumulus....high pressure lava flowing under crust often lifts up sections of crust to form a tumulus mound....western PKK flow on lower Pulama Pali....Dec 28, 2004

Lava Front....W PKK branch....Pulama Pali....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Lava Front.....W PKK branch.....Pulama Pali....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Stream of a'a proceeds past the small tree under light rain conditions....lower Pulama Pali....Oct 24, 2004
Hikers from Germany enjoy a hike to the lava flows...Pulama Pali....Oct. 24, 2004
Time to get out of the way....the a'a flow front starts piling up at a high spot and may surge forward suddenly....lower Pulama Pali....east branch of the PKK flow....Oct. 24, 2004
West PKK flow front....new pahoehoe lava flows over older pahoehoe....Oct 27, 2004
Lava gushes out from under lava crust at the east PKK flow front.....Nov 3, 2004
Floating crust exposes multiple outlets of lava....west PKK flow....Nov 5, 2004
West PKK lava front....1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean.....Nov 5, 2004
View of steam plume from same location but zoomed 10 times....Chain of Craters Road has now doubled back after going through the hairpin curve....Nov 17, 2004
Closeup of lava breakout high on Pulama Pali....thin sliver of trees about 100 feet wide has escaped from previous flows....Nov 18,2004
Zoomed view of ocean entry from three miles away on Pulama Pali at 1600 foot elevation....west PKK flow....three distinct steam plumes from lava entering the ocean....bluish gas vents on lava plain trace the path of the lava tube under the surface....Nov 22,
Lava topples tree after burning through its base....tree bursts into flames after resting on hot surface for a few minutes....mid Pkk flow high on Pulama Pali....Dec 22, 2004
View of hazy Pacific Ocean from front of mid PKK flow high on Pulama Pali....Dec 22, 2004
Young ohia tree in bloom....lower lava flats near ranger station....Dec 28, 2004

Lava Front....W PKK branch....Pulama Pali....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Lava Front.....W PKK branch.....Pulama Pali.....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Two small streams of a'a separate from the mother stream....coastal flats and Pacific Ocean shown in the distance under a light drizzle....end of Chain of Craters road and start of hike are near the center of the coastline five miles away....1025 foot elevation....Oct. 24, 2004
A small stream barrels along toward the Pacific Ocean but will stall soon and be replaced by another stream from higher up....lower Pulama Pali.....east branch of the PKK flow.....Oct 24, 2004
The flow continues toward the base of Pulama Pali....the brown flows on the left and right are older flows....east branch of the PKK flow....Oct 24, 2004
West PKK flow front has its eye on reaching the Pacific Ocean about 1.5 miles away.....Oct 27, 2004
Small pahoehoe flow on broad front of east PKK flow....about 700 foot elevation of lower Pulama Pali....tree kipuka (island) separates the east and west branches of the PKK flow.....Nov 3, 2004
Floating crust crumples and is carried to the front.....west PKK flow.....Nov 5, 2004
West PKK lava front 1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean.....300 foot wide Laeapuki bench (not visible) intervenes between the top of the seacliff and the water.....Nov 5, 2004
A tiny steam plume rises from the coastline in the center of picture where the east PKK flow is entering the ocean....picture taken from the Chain of Craters Road at the 1200 foot elevation....Nov 17, 2004
Lava front of mid PKK flow high on Pulama Pali....end of Chain of Craters Road is near coastline in the center of the picture....Nov 18, 2004
Lava breaks out from the lava tube and descends the steep part of Pulama Pali....west PKK flow, 1600 foot elevation....Nov 22, 2004
Closeup of fresh lava crust....weathering will soon diminish its bright lustre....west PKK flow on Pulama Pali....Dec 22, 2004
one of two fronts on mid PKK flow high on Pulama Pali....narrow kipuka of trees in background....Dec 22, 2004
Lava stream in western PKK flow....lower Pulama Pali....Dec 28, 2004

Lava Front.....W PKK branch.....Pulama Pali.....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Lava Front....W PKK branch....Pulama Pali....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
Hikers check out the pahoehoe flow on one of the lobes of the West PKK branch....lower Pulama Pali....Oct 24, 20
The lava flow proceeds past other stands of small trees....lower Pulama Pali....east branch of PKK flow....Oct 24, 2004
Two hikers make their way along the side of the east branch of the PKK flow....lower Pulama Pali.....Oct 24, 2004
West PKK flow front has advanced 1.5 miles from the top of the pali (hillside) since Oct 19....top of pali is 1800 feet in elevation and present front is at 400 feet.....Oct 27, 2004.....(see pictures from Oct 19)
Small breakout on developing tube of west PKK flow.....about 600 foot elevation.....Nov 3, 2004
West PKK lava front only 1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean....Nov 5, 2004
Lava at the end of the rainbow....west Pkk lava front....1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean.....Nov 5, 2004
A small lava stream approaches a small island of vegetation that had escaped previous flows....mid PKK flow high on Pulama Pali....Nov 18, 2004
Small breakout at front of mid PKK flow near top of Pulama Pali....rain squall near the shoreline....Nov 18, 2004
Several wide branches of the East PKK flow are shown in lighter color to the right of the forest kipuka.....the mid PKK flow is smaller and shown high on Pulama Pali just to the left of the kipuka....the more established West PKK is shown along the left margi
Visitors gather around surface flows near the coastline after a three mile hike...there is no ocean entry of lava at present....picture taken from above Paliuli Pali....Dec 22, 2004
High front of mid PKK flow....lower front was following the west edge of the kipuka shown in background and burning some vegetation....Dec 22, 2004
One of many lava breakouts from the PKK flow on Pulama Pali....Dec 28, 2004

Lava Front.....W PKK branch.....Pulama Pali....1800 foot elevation....Oct 19, 2004
South view of Pu'u O'o vent....picture taken from 2200 foot elevation, two miles away....Oct 19, 2004
Lava surface in contact with the cooler air is constantly solidifying.....lower Pulama Pali.....east branch of PKK flow....Oct 24, 2004
A narrow kipuka (island) of trees in the distance separates the east branch from the west branch of the PKK flow....lava shown is on the east branch.....lower Pulama Pali.....Oct 24, 2004
New pahoehoe lava flow covers old a'a flow.....West PKK flow....Oct 27, 2004
West PKK flow front has its eye on reaching the Pacific Ocean about 1.5 miles away.....Oct 27, 2004
Silvery front of west PKK flow.....about .60 miles from the ocean....Nov 3, 2004
Lava flows out from underneath crust....west PKK flow....Nov 5, 2004
West PKK flow finally reached the Pacific Ocean after starting from Pu'u O'o vent seven miles away....its final destination was the eastern edge of the older Laeapuki bench.....lava quenched by the surf turns into black sand....Nov 8, 2004
Gases from lava tube escape through cracks on the surface....the tube may be a few feet to tens of feet under the surface....east PKK flow on lower Pulama Pali.....Nov 18, 2004
Snout of a'a flow reaches base of steeper part of Pulama Pali at 1600 foot elevation....west PKK flow....Nov 22, 2004
Small breakout on one of the fronts on the East PKK flow at the 700 foot elevation of Pulama Pali....the kipuka shown in the background is a different kipuka to the east of the one shown on the panorama picture....Dec 12, 2004
Small branch of mid PKK flow scorches the west margin of narrow kipuka shown on Dec 12, 2004 picture....Dec 22, 2004
Lower front of mid PKK flow runs alongside the west margin of narrow tree kipuka....lava topples trees along the edge after burning through their base....Dec 22, 2004
Slabs of crust float on top of lava stream....lower Pulama Pali....tree kipuka separates west and east flows of PKK flow, but all flows have a common source above the pali....Dec 28, 2004