The ever-changing landscape of Kilauea has produced dramatic new sights in recent days, as several leaks have sprung from the volcano's lava tube system.

A new flow, called the Campout Flow, broke out in late June at the 2,300-foot elevation, about 200 feet below the Pu'u 'O'o vent, and is making its way toward the ocean.

The bright orange stream of 'a'a cut a narrow channel through the shiny fields of pahoehoe, marking the first time since early February that a long flow of 'a'a had been seen on the Pulama Pali.

"We don't know what it will do. It could keep going and eventually make a new ocean entry. It could take several weeks to get across the plain, but more likely it will crust over and gradually stagnate," said Christina Heliker, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

In a separate event, a large breakout at the edge of the sea cliff at East Lae'apuki occurred around the evening of June 24. Within seconds, a brilliant gush of lava began cascading down 65 feet to the bench below, said Heliker, who hiked out to the area June 25.

By the next morning, a curtain of steam and gas was rising along the 6,235-foot-long front of the bench, as lava dribbled into the sea at various points.

"These sea cliff breakouts are some of the most spectacular things we see at the volcano, especially when they are falling into the ocean," she said.

Heliker said the breakout could have been caused by a small surge in the lava supply from the vent that feeds the lava tube, or it could have been caused by clogging of the tube on the bench, forcing lava to back up and leak onto the surface.

Both the Campout Flow and the activity at East Lae'apuki are being supplied by the PKK lava tube, which takes its name from the fact that formed from a series of flows on the southwest flank of Pu'u 'O'o that occurred on Prince Kuhio Kalaniana'ole's birthday in March 2004. The activity is all part of the long-running Kilauea eruption that started in January 1983.

"There's no tremendous significance to the (Campout Flow) but they're always interesting," she said. "It's the first time we've seen a lava flow on the pali for some time. The PKK tube has been so stable and strong that it might mean the tube is breaking down a little bit. It's an always-evolving situation."

Lava has been entering the ocean at East Lae'apuki since May 2005. On Nov. 28, the entire bench of 44 acres dropped into the ocean over a 4 1/2-hour period. Observatory officials say it was the largest bench collapse since lava flows from the current eruption began entering the ocean in 1986.

Since then, the bench has expanded to about 54 acres.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.