© Hawaiian Volcano ObservatoryA large "skylight" in the Puu Oo lava field permits a view of a tube supplying lava to surface flows north of Royal Gardens subdivision. The tube, which heads southeast, is marked by the line of fume sources in the upper-right portion of the image.
Eight small earthquakes rocked Kilauea Volcano after the lava lake at the summit caldera dropped in elevation Sunday, U.S. geologists reported.
But that seismic shaking was actually below normal levels, they said.
The strongest quake was a magnitude 3.3 at 2:16 a.m. Sunday.
At Puu Oo, meanwhile, a "skylight" in the pahoehoe (smooth, ropy lava) field showed a tube transporting lava on the southeast flank to active flows about three miles to the south.
The active lava flows are within the Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve, which remains closed to the public because of various hazards - including potentially lethal concentrations of sulfur dioxide - so they are visible only from the air.
But the glow from the vents and flows can be seen from the Hawaii County viewing area at Kalapana if weather conditions are right, said scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey.
