Photos are Public domain. Thanks to U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

Incandescent hole formed on November 30, 2004 in MLK vent, part of theAerial view looking east across Pu`u `O`o. Kona wind

blows thick gas plume north from main crater. West Gap pit also is choked with gas just west of main crater. Red is active rock slide

 at headwall of Puka Nui, a large, complex collapse area in central part of image. The individual pits have not been named, except for

Lua Hou, the tiny pit giving off narrow gas plume near right edge of photo. Note the concentric cracks around the larger collapse features.

Lava flows in this area cover older spatter and cinder from Pu`u `O`o, which is unstable and slowly spreading, developing pits in the

overlying flows. Yellowish slope in middle of photo is part of Pu`u `O`o's cone that is falling apart. cluster of vents in the MLK-June

25-Puka Nui complex at south base of Pu`u `O`o.

A house is torched by a lava flow in Kalapana. In May 1990, a Federal Disaster Declaration was issued for Kalapana and all other

areas previously affected by the eruption.

Geophysicists make measurements across the roof of a lava tube leading from the episode 51 vents. The measurements reveal the size

of the tube and the cross-sectional area of the lava stream. Together with measurements of the speed of the lava stream, these data

allow us to estimate lava discharge from the volcano.

Lava bubbles explode from two openings in the roof of the lava tube system on the Kamokuna lava bench. The openings are located

10-25 m inland from the edge of the bench. The largest bubbles tossed fragments as high as 40 m and flung ribbons of spatter several

meters long that landed intact on the bench. The bursts were accompanied by loud, chugging noises as the lava exploded from the tube.

During the activity, a steam jet (lower right) produced a vigorous white steam plume.

These explosions occur when seawater flashes to steam within the confined space of an active lava tube.